From 28 November 2022 there are some important changes to the legislation for motor accident claims in NSW. Further amendments are scheduled for later commencement.
The Motor Accident Injuries Amendment Act 2022 amends the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, which applies to all motor vehicle claims in NSW where the accident occurred on after 1 December 2017.
The amending Act has been informed by a statutory review of the 2017 Act and the motor accident claims scheme it established. The review assessed whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act, the Motor Accidents Injuries
Regulation 2017 and the Motor Accidents Guidelines are appropriate for those objectives.
Provisions of the amending Act commencing now include:
- a new regulation-making power that can allow payment of statutory benefits in the period between the accident and when the claim is made even if the claim is made outside the required 28 days;
- removing the requirement for internal review by the insurer before a dispute can be referred to the Personal Injury Commission for medical assessment for disputes about the degree of permanent impairment caused as a result of the injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident;
- removal of the 20 month waiting period to bring a claim for damages for certain types of claim;
- removal of the three year time limit on referring damages claims to the Personal Injury Commission without a full and satisfactory explanation of the delay;
- removal of the bar to claimants with less than 10% whole person impairment settling a claim within two years of the accident; and
- clarifying that the liability of the nominal defendant and the legislative provisions for claiming against the nominal defendant apply to statutory benefits claims as well as damages claims.
The By Lawyers Motor Vehicle Accidents (NSW) – Accidents from 1 December 2017 guide has been updated accordingly.
Other amendments in the Act remain pending, scheduled for commencement on 23 April 2024 unless proclaimed earlier. These include provisions for:
- further regular statutory reviews of the 2017 Act;
- changing the defined term minor injury to threshold injury;
- extending weekly payments and statutory benefits for treatment and care expenses from 26 to 52 weeks for injured persons with a threshold injury who are wholly or partly at fault for the accident.
By Lawyers are monitoring the progress of these additional amendments and the guide will be further updated when they commence.