Return to Work Scheme

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:46): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Industrial Relations a question about the Return to Work scheme.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: There is currently a case before the Court of Appeal in which ReturnToWorkSA is challenging the correctness of the Summerfield decision. The clear implication of the action taken by ReturnToWorkSA is that the Summerfield case may well be overturned. The action by ReturnToWorkSA in the Williams case appears to be entirely inconsistent with the government's proposed changes to the return to work legislation, which is very concerning.

The Williams matter involves a worker who sustained injuries to his knee due to repetitive climbing up and down the ladder at a specific point in time whilst carrying out his work duties. The judge found that it was exactly the same cause that injured his right knee and his left knee and determined to combine the impairments to reach a final percentage. The Full Bench decided the judge was wrong to have combined the impairments.

Mr Williams is appealing because it was exactly the same sort of circumstances that caused both his left and right knee injuries, hence the same cause. Williams lost the appeal before the Full Bench of the Employment Tribunal and has applied for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal about whether his multiple work injuries are from the same cause or arising on the Supreme Court Summerfield decision.

The corporation has filed a notice of alternative contention, which has the goal of achieving an outcome that strikes down the Summerfield decision. In order to properly deal with the matter, the president is believed to be considering sitting five judges, which has the potential to overturn the decision in Summerfield. My questions to the minister are:

1. Have you intervened in the Williams case to date, or do you intend to intervene to withdraw the challenges to the correctness of Summerfield?

2. If not, have you or anyone from your department had any discussions with ReturnToWorkSA about withdrawing the challenge to the correctness of Summerfield?

3. If not, what will be the ramifications to the operation of the scheme if the Court of Appeal upholds ReturnToWorkSA contentions that Summerfield was wrongly decided in circumstances where the government says it is embracing the correctness of Summerfield?

4. Do you accept that, if you do not ultimately intervene in that case, failing to do so is entirely inconsistent with what your government is telling the public about its intention to fully embrace the court's decision of Summerfield?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Attorney-General, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (14:48): I thank the honourable member for her question. I have requested a briefing on the Williams case, where it is up to, and the nature and effect of what the possible decisions may be in Williams in relation to how that would affect the modelling that has been done in relation to the new scheme. We wish to see the scheme on the modelling it is, so if there is a possibility the Williams case may affect that, that is why we requested the briefing, to make sure that the assumptions the modelling has in relation to Summerfield—it is our desire to see them maintained.