Canute v Comcare

Workers compensation − Injury and impairment − Liability of Comcare to pay compensation in respect of an injury which results in a permanent impairment pursuant to s 24 of the Safety – Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) ("the Act") − Where Comcare required to determined the degree of permanent impairment resulting from an injury under the approved Guide − Where s 25(4) of the Act provides that no further compensation payable in respect of a subsequent increase of less than 10 percent in the degree of impairment where Comcare has made a final assessment of the degree of permanent impairment of the employee − Where the worker sustained a physical injury to the back and also a mental injury being a post traumatic stress disorder − Where the mental injury manifested itself later in time than the physical injury − Whether s 25(4) of the Act precluded Comcare from being liable to pay compensation in respect of the mental injury because it resulted in an increase of less than 10 percent in the degree of impairment of the employee.

Statute − Statutory construction − Whether repugnancy arises between s 24 and s 25(4) of the Act in circumstances where something is both an injury and produces a subsequent increase in the degree of permanent impairment of the employee.

Safety – Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth), ss 4, 14, 24, 25(4).