New Personal Injury Commission passes Parliament

The NSW Government will deliver a new one-stop shop Personal Injury Commission (PIC) to simplify the dispute resolution system for injured road users and workers who make a compensation claim, following its approval today by NSW Parliament.

Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said the PIC will merge the dispute resolution systems of the workers compensation and CTP insurance schemes into a single, independent tribunal.

“Making a compensation claim is already stressful enough and this new Commission will put the claimant at the centre of the dispute resolution process,” Mr Dominello said.

“The new single tribunal will help thousands of customers resolve their disputes each year. In 2019 around 7,000 applications were lodged in the Workers Compensation Commission and around 10,000 CTP applications were also lodged.

“Customer experience has been a key driver throughout this process, and hours of consultation with scheme providers and industry stakeholders has been completed to ensure the new Commission delivers the best possible claimant experience.”

Effective 1 March 2021, the Bill Act transfers the functions of the Workers Compensation Commission (WCC) and the State Insurance Regulatory Authority’s (SIRA), Dispute Resolution Service (DRS), the Motor Accidents Claims Assessment and Resolution Service (CARS), and the Motor Accidents Medical Assessment Service (MAS) to the PIC.

"The Commission will have two specialist divisions to deal with workers compensation and motor accidents, with an independent judicial head,” Mr Dominello said.

“The purpose of the Commission is to simplify the dispute resolution process and deal with disputes justly, quickly, and as cost efficiently as possible.”

The reforms do not change the benefits and entitlements in the original workers compensation and CTP schemes, ensuring minimal impact to insurance premiums and offering certainty with business continuity.

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