Ultimate Disability Services v EML: jurisdiction and remedy

What the employer applied for

The official PIC summary records that the worker was receiving compensation for physical and psychological injuries. The employer made a miscellaneous application seeking an order that the insurer stop paying compensation on the basis of alleged serious and wilful misconduct.

Jurisdiction was not the same as remedial power

Member Catherine McDonald held that the Commission had jurisdiction under section 287(1)(b) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 to resolve disputes between an employer and insurers. Transport Contract Services (NSW) Pty Ltd v Employers Mutual NSW Limited was considered.

However, establishing jurisdiction over the type of dispute did not answer whether the Commission could make the requested order. The remedy sought was not within the Commission's power, so the proceedings were dismissed.

The distinction matters in practice. Jurisdiction asks whether the Commission can hear that class of dispute. Remedial power asks whether the legislation authorises the particular order requested. A party must identify both; showing that a dispute falls within the Commission's jurisdiction does not create a power to make any order the party proposes.

What the case does not establish

• It does not say the Commission lacks jurisdiction over every employer-insurer dispute.
• It does not record an order stopping the worker's compensation.
• It should not be described as reversing the insurer's acceptance decision.
• The published holding does not grant the employer's serious-and-wilful-misconduct allegation on its merits.
• It does not prevent a separate insurer decision from creating a different dispute pathway.

Practical meaning for a worker

An employer's challenge does not by itself cancel accepted compensation. The immediate question is whether the insurer has issued a separate decision affecting liability, weekly payments or treatment. That decision, rather than the employer's allegation alone, may determine the worker's review rights and evidence needs.

Keep the acceptance notice, certificates of capacity, payment records, medical evidence, employer correspondence and every insurer notice. If a formal decision is issued, its date, reasons and statutory basis should be checked promptly.

Questions to ask when payments are threatened

• Has the insurer issued a formal liability or work-capacity decision?
• What benefit is affected: weekly payments, treatment or another entitlement?
• Who brought the application and what statutory power is relied on?
• What order is being sought, and does that forum have power to make it?
• What evidence supports the allegation and what response date applies?

Frequently asked questions

Decision and official summary

• PIC Legal Bulletin No. 201
• Ultimate Disability Services Pty Ltd v Employers Mutual NSW Ltd & Anor [2025] NSWPIC 63
• Section 287 of the 1998 Act

Decision date: 25 February 2025. Decision-maker: Member Catherine McDonald. Sources checked 21 July 2026.