Sex mishap: Australian female bureaucrat wins compensation over 'office time' accident
The tribunal agreed with Comcare that her injuries were not suffered in the course of her employment.
The tribunal found that the government had not induced or encouraged the woman's sexual conduct and could not have reasonably expected that she would have contemplated it.
The tribunal also found the sex was not an ordinary incident of an overnight stay'' such as showering, sleeping and eating.
The woman won an appeal in the Federal Court on April 19, 2012, when Judge John Nicholas rejected the tribunal's findings that the sex had to be condoned by the government if she were to qualify for compensation.
If the applicant had been injured while playing a game of cards in her motel room, she would be entitled to compensation even though it could not be said that her employer induced her to engage in such activity,'' Nicholas wrote in his judgment in favor of the woman receiving compensation.
In the Full Bench decision, Judges Patrick Keane, Robert Buchanan and Mordy Bromberg agreed last week that the government's views on the woman having sex in her motel room were irrelevant.
No approval, express or implied, of the respondent's conduct was required,'' they said.
It is not yet clear how much compensation the woman will be paid.
Comcare was on Monday considering an appeal to the High Court, Australia's highest legal authority, Comcare spokesman Russ Street said.
The issue is a significant one,'' Street said in a statement. Workers need to be clear about their entitlements and employers should have an understanding of their responsibilities
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