The Personal Injury Commission flexes its administrative muscle

An issue had arisen as to whether the Personal Injury Commission ('PIC') had jurisdiction to determine matters in relation to the injury, liability, and various entitlement provisions under the Workers Compensation Act ('WCA') when a worker resided outside of NSW at the time of filing an application.

Several matters were ultimately dismissed to allow the District Court to determine and clarify the scope of the PIC's power moving forward.

Introduction

A recent joint judgment handed down by Judge Waugh of the District Court of New South Wales ('the Court') has confirmed that the PIC operates with administrative power, rather than judicial, when resolving disputes between the State of New South Wales, and a resident of another State of Australia.