Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer v Hill.

The Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Deputy President of the Workers Compensation Commission. The appeal concerned the entitlement of the respondent, Ms. Hill, to workers compensation following the death of her de facto partner, Mr. Hill, who was employed by the appellant's insured. Mr. Hill was killed by a co-worker, who was also his de facto partner, during an attack motivated by paranoid delusions.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the Deputy President had misunderstood the scope of her appellate jurisdiction under section 352 of the *Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998* (NSW), and whether she had erred in her findings regarding the causal link between Mr. Hill's employment and his death. Specifically, the court considered whether the Deputy President correctly determined that there was sufficient evidence of a substantial contributing factor to Mr. Hill's death arising out of or in the course of his employment, as required by sections 4 and 9A of the Act.

The Court of Appeal found that the Deputy President had not misunderstood her appellate jurisdiction. It held that her review of the evidence was within the permissible scope of an appeal limited to error of fact, law, or discretion. Regarding the causal link, the court determined that the Deputy President had not erred in her findings. The court reasoned that the paranoid delusions of the co-worker, which led to the fatal attack, were influenced by both Mr. Hill's work and their personal relationship. The Deputy President was entitled to find that the employment provided the occasion for the attack, and therefore, the employment was a substantial contributing factor to Mr. Hill's death, even though the immediate cause was the co-worker's personal delusions.

The appeal was dismissed.