What happened: The South Australian Employment Tribunal stayed a $126,841 costs order after finding it was made against a workers' comp insurer without that insurer's knowledge or consent.
Who's involved: Premix Concrete SA Pty Ltd (employer), Return to Work Corporation of South Australia (original insurer)
What's at stake: $126,841.44 in legal costs and disbursements
Why it matters: When self-insurance transitions leave two compensating authorities in the picture, consent orders between other parties can create liability without due process.
Where it stands: Stay granted; appeal and cross-appeal pending before a Full Bench.
A $126,841 bill for legal costs landed on a South Australian workers' compensation authority that had no idea the order was coming.
The South Australian Employment Tribunal has stayed the costs order after finding that the Return to Work Corporation of South Australia was made liable to pay by consent between two other parties - the employer, Premix Concrete SA Pty Ltd, and an injured worker - without anyone giving the Corporation a chance to be heard.
The decision, delivered on September 30, 2026, turns on a complication that claims professionals dealing with self-insurance transitions will recognise immediately: what happens when the body responsible for a claim changes mid-case, and nobody updates the liability trail?
The underlying dispute was a workers' compensation claim. Premix Concrete was the employer. The Return to Work Corporation was the compensating authority - the government body that manages and pays out workers' comp claims - when the hearing took place in April 2025.
But in January 2026, Premix became self-insured under the Return to Work Act 2014. That meant Premix took over responsibility for the claim from the Corporation. It did not, apparently, change the way the parties dealt with costs.
The Corporation withdrew from the proceedings on January 14, 2026. Six months later, when the court made orders on July 13, 2026, the costs order directed the Corporation to pay costs and disbursements for both Premix and the worker. The order was made by consent between Premix and the worker. Nobody consulted the Corporation.
The Corporation's position: under the self-insurance agreement Premix entered into, Premix assumed liability for all payments the Corporation would otherwise be responsible for - including costs - from a date before the costs order was made. No documentary evidence of that agreement was tendered, but Premix's legal team did not contest the claim.
The worker's legal costs, counsel fees, and disbursements total $126,841.44.
Premix filed a notice of appeal on August 7, 2026. The Tribunal's President then ordered the Corporation joined as a second respondent on August 25.
The Corporation filed a cross-appeal on three grounds: that it was denied a fair hearing when the costs order was made without notice, that the court failed to give reasons for imposing the liability on it, and that on the proper reading of the Return to Work Act, costs arising from a claim that predates self-insurance should fall on the self-insured employer - not the Corporation.
The court acknowledged that the chances of overturning the costs order were slim. Even if Premix succeeds on other parts of the appeal, the worker would likely remain entitled to costs under the Return to Work Act's costs provisions, which generally favour injured workers unless they acted unreasonably or vexatiously.
But one factor tipped the balance. The Corporation was made responsible for paying $126,841.44 without being heard, despite having a direct financial interest. The court found that this failure to consult, combined with the live dispute over which body should foot the bill, warranted a stay.
The judgment left the door open for the worker to apply for costs to be paid into the Tribunal on an interim basis under the Tribunal's rules, protecting any amount paid while the question of who ultimately pays is resolved. Both Premix and the Corporation were encouraged to negotiate terms, but the court was told there had not been enough time to reach a deal.
When the body responsible for a workers' comp claim changes hands mid-proceedings, every order that touches costs needs to account for who is actually liable - and that party needs to be in the room when the order is made.
The stay was granted on September 30, 2026. The appeal and cross-appeal remain pending before a Full Bench. No determination has been made on the merits of either.
