Table 3.2d: Definition of injury and employment contribution | Safe Work Australia

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	Definition of injury and relationship to employment	Contribution of employment to injury
New South Wales	injury: means personal injury arising out of or in the course of employment, includes a *disease injury, which means: a disease that is contracted by a worker in the course of employment but only if the employment was the main contributing factor to contracting the disease, and the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration in the course of employment of any disease, but only if the employment was the main contributing factor to the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of the disease, and does not include (except in the case of a worker employed in or about a mine) a dust disease, as defined by the Workers’ Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942, or the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of a dust disease, as so defined. s4, Workers Compensation Act 1987*.	No compensation is payable under this Act in respect of an injury (other than a disease injury for non-exempt workers) unless the employment concerned was a substantial contributing factor to the injury. — s9A (1), 1987 Act. With some exceptions around dust disease as outlined under s4, Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998.
Victoria	‘. . . arising out of or in the course of, any employment . . .’ — s39(1), Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013.	Compensation is not payable in respect of the following injuries unless the worker’s employment was a significant contributing factor to the injury: a) a heart attack or stroke injury b) a disease contracted by a worker in the course of employment (whether at, or away from, the place of employment) c) a recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of any pre-existing injury or disease — s40(2) and s40(3).
Queensland	‘. . . a personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment . . .’ — s32(1), Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003.	A significant contributing factor — s32(1)
Western Australia	‘. . . a personal injury by accident arising out of or in the course of the employment . .’— s5, Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981.	Injury includes: a disease contracted by a worker in the course of his employment at or away from his place of employment and to which the employment was a contributing factor and contributed to a significant degree — s5.
South Australia	‘ . . . .injury if (and only if) it arises from employment’ — s7, Return to Work Act 2014.	The Return to Work Act 2014 applies to an injury if (and only if) it arises from employment — s7. For psychological injuries to be compensable, employment must be ‘the significant contributing cause.’ s7(2)(b)(i).
Tasmania	‘An injury, not being a disease, arising out of, or in the course of employment’— s25(1)(a), Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. ‘an injury, which is a disease, to which his employment contributed to a substantial degree’ — s25(1)(b).	To a substantial degree, that is, employment is the ‘major or most significant factor’ (for diseases only) — s3(2A). Employment being the major or most significant contributing factor is also a requirement in relation to injuries that are a recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of any pre-existing injury or disease (s3(1) — in definition of ‘injury’).
Northern Territory	Injury An *injury, in relation to a worker, is a physical or mental injury arising out of or in the course of the worker’s employment and includes: a disease; and the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation, recurrence or deterioration of a pre-existing injury or disease…. Out of or in course of employment…* s3A and s4 Return to Work Act 1986	…gradual process over a period of time and the employment… materially contributed to the injury – s4(5) …a disease shall be taken to have contracted by a worker in the course of employment if it is prescribed by Regulations… as being related to employment of a particular kind… - s4(6) …the employment of a worker is not to be taken to have materially contributed… unless the employment was the real, proximate or effective cause of the injury, disease, aggravation, acceleration or exacerbation – s4(8) A mental injury is not an injury if due to management action taken on reasonable grounds and in a reasonable manner — s3A(2). See s3(1) for definition of ‘management action For heart attack or stroke injury — …if the worker’s employment materially contributed to the injury or disease – s58 - the material contribution of the worker’s employment to the injury or disease is to be determined in accordance with section 4(8)
Australian Capital Territory	‘a physical or mental injury (including stress) . . . includes aggravation, acceleration or recurrence of a pre-existing injury . . . arising out of, or in the course of, the worker’s employment . . .’ — s4 and s31, Workers Compensation Act 1951.	A substantial contributing factor — s31(2).
C’wealth Comcare	For injuries: ‘. . . a physical or mental injury arising out of, or in the course of, the employee’s employment’, or ‘... an aggravation of a physical or mental injury (other than a disease) suffered by an employee (whether or not that injury arose out of, or in the course of, the employee’s employment), that is an aggravation that arose out of, or in the course of, that employment’ — s5A For diseases: ‘an ailment suffered by an employee; or an aggravation of such an ailment that was contributed to, to a significant degree, by an employee’s employment…’ — s5B, Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.	To a significant degree (for diseases) — s5B with matters to be taken into account being set out in a non-exclusive list and with ‘significant degree’ being defined as ‘substantially more than material’.
C’wealth Seacare	For injuries: ‘an injury (other than a disease) suffered by an employee, being. a physical or mental injury arising out of, or in the course of, the employee’s employment’, or ‘... an aggravation of a physical or mental injury (other than a disease) suffered by an employee...’ — s3 For diseases: ‘any ailment suffered by an employee, or the aggravation of any such ailment, being an ailment or an aggravation that was contributed to in a material degree by the employee’s employment’ — s3, Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992.	To a material degree (for diseases) — s3.
C’wealth DVA	Refer s27, s29(1), s29(2) and s30 of MRCA (Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004) 1. any injury or disease (or recurrence) that: resulted from an occurrence that happened on service arose out of, or was attributable to, any service due to an accident not occurring or a disease not being contracted but for service, or but for changes in the person’s environment due to service resulted from an accident that occurred whilst travelling, while a member rendering peacetime service but otherwise than in the course of duty, on a journey to a place for the purpose of performing duty; or away from a place of duty upon having ceased to perform duty, or arising from treatment provided by the Commonwealth. 2. any aggravation of an injury or disease, or its signs and symptoms: contributed to in a material degree by or was aggravated by service, and/or aggravated by treatment provided by the Commonwealth. Refer s5A and s5B of DRCA (Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988) For injuries: ‘ . . . a physical or mental injury arising out of, or in the course of, the employee’s employment’, or ‘... an aggravation of a physical or mental injury (other than a disease) suffered by an employee...’’ — s5A For diseases: ‘an ailment suffered by an employee; or an aggravation of such an ailment that was contributed to, to a significant degree, by an employee’s employment…’ — s5B.	Minimum material contribution required (‘arose out of, or was attributable to’) — MRCA s27b and s27c. In a material degree (for aggravations only) — MRCA, s27d and s30. To a material degree (for diseases onset prior to 13 April 2007) — s3. To a significant degree (for diseases onset after 13 April 2007) — s5B with matter to be taken into account being set out in a non-exclusive list and with ‘significant degree’ being defined as ‘substantially more than material’ Disease onset prior to 1 December 1988 have a different contribution threshold as per the transitional provisions which preserve the benefits under the older Acts. Claims relating to injuries incurred prior to the 1988 Act are considered in accordance with the provisions of the earlier legislation in place at the time.
New Zealand	A work-related personal injury is a personal injury that a person suffers while he or she is at any place for the purposes of his or her employment — s28, Accident Compensation Act 2001.	A work-related personal injury is a personal injury that a person suffers while he or she is at any place for the purposes of his or her employment — s28.