High Court to hear Sex Injury Compensation Case

The federal government’s workplace safety body, Comcare, was granted leave by the High Court to appeal a Federal Court ruling on the distinction between private and business activities when employees travel for work.

The appeal is focused on the legal test for compensation which sets out how break periods between actual work are considered when employees are required to be away from home. The matter concerned a Commonwealth public servant who was required to travel to regional NSW and stayed at a motel booked by her employer. During her stay at night, she engaged in sexual activity which resulted in light fitting breaking from the wall and causing injury to her mouth and nose.

Her claim was initially reviewed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which found that sexual activity was “not an ordinary incident of an overnight stay…” However, she continued to battle for her claim and eventually won in the Federal Court in April last year in Comcare v PVYM [2012] FCAFC 181. The judge there held that the injuries did not fail the legal test and were thus injuries suffered in the course of her employment.

The appeal to the High Court is scheduled to be heard in August of this year.

Click here to read more. 

Timebase's Employment Point-in-Time Service allows subscribers to view complete histories of legislative provisions, compare and view changes over time and search for relevant content at any date. Contact Timebase for a free trial.