Material contribution of employment

7.For a disease to be considered compensable it must be contributed to in a material degree by the Commonwealth employment.  The majority of stress claims are assessed under this disease provision.

8.In determining claims the SCMC has been considering whether the condition was caused or aggravated by some specific event or occurrence in the course of the employment or some characteristic of the work performed or the conditions in which it was performed.  This is based on the High Court's interpretation of employment in Federal Broom Company Pty Ltd v Semlitch (1964) CLR 626.  This definition of employment would seem to concentrate on what someone is employed to do rather than the management practices which are adopted.  Further in Federal Broom  it was held that “when the Act speaks of 'the employment' as a contributing factor, it refers not to the fact of being employed, but to what the worker does in his employment...”

9.Comcare Australia is of the view that restructuring processes are part of the normal employment environment.  This must be considered when examining the question of material contribution in relation to claims.  An employee would therefore have to demonstrate that the medical condition has arisen as a result of the failure of the employing agency to adopt a reasonable process or through some significant breach in the restructuring process adopted by the agency.