Johnson v SAS Trustee Corporation [2019] NSWDC 925

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Johnson v SAS Trustee Corporation [2019] NSWDC 925 Hearing dates: 4-8 November 2019 Date of orders: 8 November 2019 Decision date: 08 November 2019 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: Confirm Decision of the Defendant Catchwords: POLICE SUPERANNUATION P was a member of NSW Police from 19 December 1986 until he resigned on 28 August 2002. He made an application to D for a Hurt on Duty (HOD) superannuation allowance on 17 October 2016, 14 years later. On 28 February 2018, D determined that P had not given notice to Commissioner of Police (COP) of the injury giving rise to the claimed infirmities of chronic PTSD and major depression. P asked the Court to make a different determination of that issue and to find that at the time of his resignation P was suffering from the infirmities alleged. Held: Court could only determine the first issue but not the second. The second issue had not been decided by D and the Court could only make a determination to either confirm or set aside a prior decision of D. Obiter: it is preferable for D to determine both issues at the one time. Legislation Cited: Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906 Workers Compensation Act 1987 Workmen's Compensation Act 1925 (UK) Workplace Injury Management Act and Workers Compensation Act 1998 Cases Cited: Fenton v Thorley [1903] AC443; (1903) 5WCC1 Lyons v Master Builders Association of New South Wales Pty Ltd (2003) 25 NSWCCR 422 Page v Commissioner of Police (No 2) [2012] NSWDC 137 SAS Trustee Corporation v Woollard [2014] NSWCA 75 Zinc Corporation Limited v Scarce (1995) 12 NSWCCR 566 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Russell Leigh Johnson – Plaintiff SAS Trustee Corporation – Defendant Representation: Counsel: P. O'Rourke – Plaintiff T. Ower – Defendant File Number(s): RJ55/19 Publication restriction: Nil.