Wynn v NSW Insurance Ministerial Corporation

The High Court of Australia considered the appeal in *Wynn v NSW Insurance Ministerial Corporation*. The dispute concerned the appellant's entitlement to statutory compensation for a work injury sustained in 1981, specifically whether the appellant's claim was barred by the operation of section 151 of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW). The appellant had previously received weekly payments of compensation under the *Workers Compensation Act 1926* (NSW) for the injury.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the appellant's claim for a lump sum payment of compensation under the 1987 Act was valid, or if it was extinguished by the transitional provisions of the 1987 Act, which repealed the 1926 Act. The court had to determine the effect of section 151 of the 1987 Act on claims that had accrued under the repealed legislation but had not been finally determined or satisfied prior to the commencement of the 1987 Act.

The High Court held that section 151 of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) did not extinguish the appellant's right to claim a lump sum compensation payment. The majority reasoned that the right to a lump sum payment was a substantive right that accrued at the time of the injury, and the transitional provisions of the 1987 Act were not intended to extinguish such accrued rights. They applied the principle that legislation should not be presumed to take away vested rights unless the intention to do so is clearly expressed. The court found that the appellant's claim for a lump sum was a claim for a benefit that had already vested under the 1926 Act, and the 1987 Act provided a new mechanism for the determination of such claims.

The appeal was allowed, and the orders of the Supreme Court of New South Wales were set aside. The matter was remitted to the Workers Compensation Commission for determination according to law.