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An employer must pay workers' compensation for a psychological injury, even though its former employee didn't show signs of mental ill health while she was working, was facing multiple stressors in her personal life, and lodged her claim outside the required timeframe.

NSW Personal Injury Commission Member Rachel Homan noted that despite these "evidentiary challenges", medical evidence showed a "clear deterioration" of the employee's pre-existing condition that "coincided temporally with the difficulties [she] identified in the workplace".

The employee worked as an area care assessment consultant for Royal Freemasons Benevolent Institution from August 2021 until she resigned in April 2022. About a year later, she sought compensation for a psychological injury.

The employer denied liability, stating that even if her employment had contributed to her condition, it was not the main factor. It pointed out there were multiple non-work stressors in the employee's life at the relevant time, including: the death of her dog; the death of two friends; issues with rain, mould and renovations; and her brother's verbal abuse...