Yawari and Australian Postal Corporation (Compensation) (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms. Yawari against a decision by the Australian Postal Corporation to deny her claim for compensation. Ms. Yawari, a parcel sorter, alleged she suffered an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood due to bullying, harassment, and discrimination by colleagues during her employment. The Australian Postal Corporation had rejected her claim, finding that her alleged condition did not arise out of, or in the course of, her employment. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the Australian Postal Corporation was liable to pay compensation to Ms. Yawari for her claimed workplace injury.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms. Yawari's adjustment disorder constituted a compensable "injury" under the relevant legislation, and if so, whether her employment had contributed to it to the requisite degree. The Tribunal had to distinguish between an "injury simpliciter," which requires the injury to arise out of or in the course of employment, and a "disease," which requires employment to have contributed to it to a significant degree. The Tribunal considered the evidence presented, including medical reports and Ms. Yawari's account of her experiences, to ascertain the nature of her condition and its causal link to her work.

The Tribunal reasoned that Ms. Yawari's claimed condition of adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood was not an "injury simpliciter" arising directly from specific incidents of bullying and harassment, as the allegations of such conduct were not substantiated. However, applying the principles established in cases such as *Australian Postal Corporation v Burch*, the Tribunal found that her condition was a "disease" to which her employment had contributed to a significant degree. The Tribunal was satisfied, based on the evidence, that Ms. Yawari's employment was a substantial contributing factor to her psychiatric condition, leading to her incapacity.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the Australian Postal Corporation's decision and substituted a new decision finding that Ms. Yawari was entitled to compensation under section 14 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* for her adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood. The matter was to be remitted to the Australian Postal Corporation for determination of liability under other relevant sections of the Act.