Woman loses compensation claim over colleagues wearing perfume
A public servant in New South Wales who claimed perfume worn by colleagues worsened her allergies has lost a compensation claim.
The woman, based in Orange with the Department of Human Services, retired on invalidity grounds in April last year.
The woman had sought compensation for permanent impairment and non-economic loss, which was rejected by Comcare in June last year.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal heard the matter in Canberra last month.
The tribunal heard the woman suffers from "multiple chemical sensitivity", a syndrome she attributed to exposure to perfumes, oils and chemicals.
The woman claimed it became worse when her agency moved into a new air-conditioned and sealed building, and when a previous agreement by colleagues not to wear perfumes was abandoned.
It heard the woman lodged six incident reports between October 2011 and January 2012, concerning adverse reactions to chemicals and perfumes at work.
The woman told the hearing after one of the incidents, she suffered from nausea, disorientation, headaches, dizziness and chest pain.
But the tribunal backed Comcare's refusal of the claim.
It noted that some of the woman's symptoms were caused by factors outside the workplace, including wood smoke and multiple cleaning agents.
The tribunal was not satisfied that the woman's impairment met the minimum level of 10 per cent required in the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.
