No 71: September 2017

Welcome to e-Bulletin No. 71 of the Workers Compensation Commission.

This bulletin outlines:

• Vacancy – Senior Lawyer (one role)

• Procedural requirements on appeal

Vacancy – Senior Lawyer

The Commission is seeking applications from legal practitioners for the role of Senior Lawyer.

The Senior Lawyer provides professional legal services to the Commission and manages the publication of legal research materials and currency of the Commission’s legal practice manuals. The Senior Lawyer also undertakes legal and statutory decision-making functions of the Registrar under delegation.

The successful candidate will have substantial legal experience and a sound understanding of workers compensation and administrative law.

Applications (one page covering letter and up to 5 page CV) must be submitted online at iworkfor.nsw.gov.au by Friday, 15 September 2017 (11:59 pm).

Telephone enquiries may be made to Michael Wright, Director Legal Services on 8281 6424.

Procedural requirements on appeal

Practitioners are reminded that arbitral appeals must comply with the procedural requirements of s 352 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (the 1998 Act) as set out in Practice Direction No 6 – Appeal against a Decision of the Commission Constituted by an Arbitrator. This includes:

Grounds of appeal

The Appeal Application must state:

(a) whether the appeal is from the whole or part only, and which part, of the Arbitrator’s decision;

(b) briefly, but specifically, the grounds relied on in support of the appeal. It is not acceptable merely to allege that the Arbitrator erred in law, fact or discretion, or that the decision is against the evidence or the weight of the evidence. The grounds of appeal must identify the respects in which error of law, fact or discretion is alleged to have occurred as well as any material findings it is said the Arbitrator should or should not have made, and any material facts it is said the Arbitrator should or should not have found, and

(c) the decision or order/s the appellant seeks.

Submissions

Submissions must be divided into paragraphs and numbered consecutively with appropriate subheadings. They must be typed or printed in a neat legible manner.

All submissions must deal clearly and succinctly with each ground of appeal and include relevant page references to the evidence and transcript. Full and correct names, citations and page or paragraph references for any judicial authorities must also be provided.

It is not acceptable to merely allege that the Arbitrator erred in fact, law or discretion. Submissions must clearly and succinctly identify the alleged error, how that error has affected the outcome, and why the outcome should be different.

References to legislation must include the section or subsection and the full name of the Act or Regulation. The parties are to rely on and refer to the Commission’s official transcript of the arbitration proceedings.

Submissions must be signed by the legal practitioner who prepared them or, where the party is not legally represented, by the party.

Compliance

Applications to appeal a decision of an Arbitrator will not be accepted if the application does not comply with Practice Direction 6. In circumstances where the application cannot be re-submitted within the time required by s 352(4) of the 1998 Act, parties will be required to make application to extend time for the making of the appeal under r 16.2(12) of the Workers Compensation Commission Rules 2011. Practitioners are reminded that such applications will be considered having regard to whether exceptional circumstances exist.