ZDHG and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application for compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) (SRC Act) by an applicant employed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The applicant, who served in domestic and international deployments between 2007 and 2014, claimed to suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which was significantly contributed to by his employment. The respondent, Comcare, denied liability for PTSD.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's alleged PTSD was a condition that arose out of, or in the course of, his employment with the AFP, and whether it was significantly contributed to by the nature and conditions of that employment. This required the Tribunal to consider the applicant's various deployments, alleged traumatic incidents, and the contemporaneous evidence of his psychological state and experiences during his service, as well as the medical evidence presented post-employment.

The Tribunal reasoned that the post-voluntary redundancy medical evidence, while supporting a diagnosis of PTSD, failed to adequately consider the contemporaneous evidence from the applicant's period of employment with the AFP. It noted that the applicant had recovered from earlier symptoms and continued to work without further reported issues, including on subsequent deployments. The Tribunal also considered the applicant's motivations for joining the AFP and his satisfaction with certain deployments, alongside his long-standing grievances about leadership and colleague behaviour. Ultimately, the Tribunal did not accept the diagnosis of PTSD as arising from his employment and found that the applicant was not entitled to compensation under section 14 of the SRC Act.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the reviewable decision.