Ziade and Australian Postal Corporation (Compensation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the matter of costs in the applications of Ziade and Australian Postal Corporation (Compensation) [2024] AATA 2586. The dispute arose after the Tribunal varied a reviewable decision in one application and affirmed a decision in another, leading to submissions regarding the recovery of costs by the applicant, Mr Ziade. Australia Post sought to limit Mr Ziade's recoverable costs to the period before it made an offer of compromise, arguing that the Tribunal's ultimate decision was not more favourable to Mr Ziade than this offer.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was the interpretation and application of section 67 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act), specifically concerning the circumstances under which a claimant is entitled to recover costs. The Tribunal had to determine whether the decision it made, which varied the reviewable decision to extend Australia Post's liability for compensation from 4 October 2019 to 6 November 2019, was "more favourable" to Mr Ziade than the offer of compromise made by Australia Post on 11 October 2023. This offer had proposed to extend the cessation of liability to 6 November 2019 and included an offer to pay Mr Ziade's costs.

The Tribunal reasoned that for Australia Post to successfully limit Mr Ziade's costs, its offer of compromise must have been more favourable to Mr Ziade than the outcome achieved at the hearing. The Tribunal noted that its decision to vary the reviewable decision was indeed favourable to Mr Ziade, as it extended the period of Australia Post's liability. However, Australia Post contended that its offer of compromise, which also extended liability to 6 November 2019 and offered to pay costs, was not less favourable than the Tribunal's decision. The Tribunal's decision was that the offer of compromise was not more favourable to the Applicant than the decision made by the Tribunal. Consequently, the Tribunal ordered that Mr Ziade was entitled to recover his costs, but these costs were not recoverable from the date of the compromise offer.