Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Synergy; that is right. If someone has a back sprain and/or a spondylosis can the parliamentary secretary explain whether there will be doubling up, because I see them as quite distinct conditions? One is a pre-existing condition but it means that you are more vulnerable to the effects of an injury in the event that you have a back strain than someone who does not have that pre-existing condition. The way that workers compensation, or indeed common law, has worked for many years across a range of jurisdictions is that effectively you take your victims as you find them. If somebody, as a result of having a pre-existing condition, is more vulnerable to a greater level of incapacity than someone who did not have that pre-existing condition in similar circumstances of trauma then that clearly would be relevant. I would appreciate it if the parliamentary secretary could indicate what he meant by the reference to spondylosis and back strain.