Workers' Compensation Regulator v Glass

[2020] QCA 133

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Workers’ Compensation Regulator v Glass [2020] QCA 133

PARTIES:

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION REGULATOR
(applicant)
v
GERALDINE GLASS
(respondent)

FILE NOS:

Appeal No 1247 of 2020
ICQ No C/2019/10

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

Application to Strike Out

ORIGINATING COURT:

Industrial Court at Brisbane – [2020] ICQ 1 (Martin J)

DELIVERED ON:

16 June 2020

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

17 April 2020

JUDGES:

Sofronoff P

ORDER:

Notice of appeal is struck out with costs.

CATCHWORDS:

PROCEDURE – STATE AND TERRITORY COURTS: JURISDICTION, POWERS AND GENERALLY – JURISDICTION – COURT AND CHAMBERS – where Ms Glass was supervising a school trip to Vanuatu – where she was injured – where she made an application for compensation to WorkCover Queensland which was unsuccessful – where she sought a review by the applicant Regulator – where the Regulator affirmed the decision to reject Ms Glass’ claim – where Ms Glass appealed to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission which dismissed the appeal – where she then appealed to the Industrial Court – where the appeal was dismissed by Martin J sitting as the President of the Industrial Court – where she then filed a notice of appeal against a decision of the Industrial Court – where the Regulator filed an application to strike out the notice of appeal – where the Regulator submitted that there can be no appeal in this case from a decision of the Industrial Court to the Court of Appeal – whether a decision made by the Industrial Court is final – whether the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear an appeal of a decision of the Industrial Court

Industrial Relations Act 1999 (Qld), s 340
Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), s 554
Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), s 542, s 561

COUNSEL:

C J Murdoch QC, with P B O’Neill, for the applicant
S A McLeod QC, with R M O’Gorman, for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

Workers’ Compensation Regulator for the applicant
Holding Redlich for the respondent

1. SOFRONOFF P:  The appellant in the appeal and the respondent in this application, Ms Glass, to whom I shall refer as the “appellant”, filed a notice of appeal against a decision of Martin J sitting as President of the Industrial Court of Queensland.  The respondent in the appeal and the applicant in this application, to whom I shall refer as the “Regulator”, has applied to strike out the notice of appeal on the ground that no appeal lies from a decision of the President of the Industrial Court.

2. The appellant was a teacher employed by Brisbane Catholic Education at a school in Hervey Bay.  She accompanied a group of students on a school sponsored trip to Vanuatu.  A planned afternoon excursion to a local waterfall, which was arranged for the benefit of the pupils and at which the appellant was to supervise them, was cancelled.  The supervising teachers decided to take the pupils instead to a different waterfall.  While the appellant was participating with the students…