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Permanent impairment assessors

This information is for permanent impairment assessors to help assess an injured person’s permanent impairment in the workers compensation system.

SIRA maintains a list of permanent impairment assessors that work in the NSW workers compensation system. SIRA does not appoint, approve, or otherwise endorse these permanent impairment assessors. It is a matter for individual workers, referrers, and their representatives to review the list and identify the assessor they consider most appropriate based on their own individual circumstances. A practitioners registration details on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) website may assist in informing their selection.

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Workers compensation

A permanent impairment assessor is a registered medical practitioner trained to assess a worker's permanent impairment as a result of a work related injury or illness.

Guidelines for the provision of relevant services have been published

SIRA has published the Guidelines for the Provision of Relevant Services (Health and Related Services), which apply to relevant service providers providing services in the NSW workers compensation and CTP schemes.

The following sections of the guidelines apply to permanent impairment assessors providing relevant services in the workers compensation scheme:

This webpage has been updated to include content from the Guidelines and the associated legislation.

In brief

A permanent impairment assessor is a registered medical practitioner recognised as a specialist with qualifications, training and experience relevant to the specific body system or systems being assessed.

SIRA maintains a list of permanent impairment assessors that work in the NSW workers compensation system. SIRA does not appoint, approve, or otherwise endorse these permanent impairment assessors. It is a matter for individual workers, referrers, and their representatives to review the list and identify the assessor they consider most appropriate based on their own individual circumstances. A practitioner’s registration details on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) website may assist in informing their selection.

To provide services within the NSW workers compensation system, you must be a trained assessor of permanent impairment for each body system you intend to assess and be listed for each body system on the SIRA workers compensation website. You may be one of the worker’s treating specialists or you may be engaged on behalf of the worker, employer or insurer for the purposes of assessing the level of permanent impairment.

A permanent impairment assessment is used to measure how much permanent change has happened to the worker’s body because of their injury.

In assessing permanent impairment, the assessor must determine:

  • whether the worker's condition has resulted in impairment
  • whether the condition has reached maximum medical improvement
  • whether the impairment is permanent
  • the degree of permanent impairment that results from the injury
  • the proportion of permanent impairment due to any previous injury, pre-existing condition or abnormality.

Refer to the Guidelines for the Provision of Relevant Services (Health and Related Services) for the requirements that medico-legal providers, including permanent impairment assessors, must comply with.

How do I become a permanent impairment assessor?

In order to become a permanent impairment assessor you are required to:

  • meet certain eligibility criteria
  • satisfactorily complete training in the evaluation of permanent impairment, and
  • submit an application and be listed on the website.

Listing as an assessor of permanent impairment explains the process and requirements to become listed as an assessor of permanent impairment. Applicants may apply to be listed using the assessor of permanent impairment application.

You can use our online search tool to find a permanent assessor (or to see who's listed).

Training in the evaluation of permanent impairment

Australian Medical Association (AMA) Victoria’s education business unit, AMA Training has partnered with AMA NSW to provide training in the evaluation of permanent impairment in the NSW workers compensation system.

For more information on the course, refer to our Training and workshops page.

To register, contact AMA Training on (03) 9280 8722 or email [email protected].

Publications you might need

These documents also provide additional information:

Fees and invoicing

The fees orders set out the rates payable to assessors of permanent impairment. Find these and other Fees Orders below:

Historical health-related fees

These are the historical health related fees and rates orders.

Fees and rates orders 2020

What your invoices will need to include

SIRA requires medical practitioners and other service providers to provide itemised invoices before payment can be made by the insurer.

Invoices for relevant services rendered must include:

  • the injured worker’s first and last name, and claim number
  • payee name, address, telephone number and email address
  • payee Australian Business Number (ABN)
  • name of the relevant service provider who delivered the relevant service
  • in the case of medical practitioner services, the provider’s:
    • Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) number, and
    • Medicare provider number (unless not registered with Medicare).
  • relevant SIRA payment classification code
  • service cost for each SIRA payment classification code
  • date of service
  • date of invoice (must be on the day of or after last date of service listed on the invoice).

Invoices must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the service being provided.

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