Abdul-Rahman v WorkCover Authority of NSW [2015] NSWSC 1483

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Abdul-Rahman v WorkCover Authority of NSW [2015] NSWSC 1483 Hearing dates: 6 October 2015 Date of orders: 16 October 2015 Decision date: 16 October 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Hamill J Decision: (1) Leave to appeal under s 53 Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) is granted to the plaintiff. (2) Leave to file and rely on a Notice of Contention under Part 50.11 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) is granted to the Defendant. (3) The appeal is allowed. (4) The decision of the Local Court is set aside and in lieu thereof there will be a judgment for the plaintiff (that is, judgment for the defendant in the Local Court). (5) The defendant is to pay the costs of the plaintiff in both this Court and the Local Court. Catchwords: CIVIL LAW - workers compensation insurance – requirement for employer to hold current policy – debt or civil penalty arising from failure of employer to hold policy – relevant limitation period – appeal against decision of Magistrate – whether action constituted "proceedings for an offence" – whether Magistrate so found – submission that Court bound by purported finding – submission rejected – combative approach to litigation – whether notice of contention should be permitted – conflicting versions of conversations between counsel – when cause of action accrued to the Authority – ambiguity in legislation - agreement that Magistrate had erred - rare and refreshing moment of concurrence – appeal allowed Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Compensation Act 1998 (NSW) Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW) Cases Cited: London Borough of Hillingdon v ARC Limited [1998] 3 WLR 754 R v Hull (1989) 16 NSWLR 386 Houssein v Under Secretary, Department of Industrial Relations and Technology (NSW) [1982] HCA 2; 148 CLR 88 R v Wilcox: Ex parte Venture Industries Pty Ltd (1996) FCR 511 WorkCover Authority of NSW v Edwards Madogan Torzillo Briggs, Ove Arup Consult & Ors [2003] NSWIRComm 452 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mohyeddine Abdul-Rahman (Applicant) WorkCover Authority of NSW (Respondent) Representation: Counsel: J D Beck (Applicant) D W Rayment (Respondent)