Section 6(1)(a) provides for compensation where an act of violence causes injury to a member away from their place of work. This may result from the nature of the member's employment or from the performance of their work duties or functions.
An “act of violence” does not include any violent occurrence. In the context of s 6(1)(a), its meaning is confined to a deliberate act of a violent nature.
Note that, even if an act of violence does not fall within s 6(1)(a), an injury sustained from an act of violence may nevertheless be compensable if it arose out of, or in the course of, the client's employment.
- What constitutes an “act of violence” for the purposes of s 6(1)(a) is well illustrated by the decision of the Tribunal in Mulligan and Comcare (1995). The Tribunal held that a motor vehicle accident was not an “act of violence”, commenting:
It can not be said that any physical accident can be properly described as an act of violence. What is required is something in the nature of an assault. The fact that the word “act” is used indicates the requirement of volition, and an element of deliberateness.
- An assault on an MP in a revenge attack by a disgruntled soldier would clearly be an “act of violence”.