Statutory review of motor accidents completed
The statutory review of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 is now complete. It found that overall the scheme is meeting its objectives while making recommendations that could extend benefits.
The review, conducted by independent consultants Clayton Utz and Deloitte, assessed the performance of the scheme over its first three years.
It found that the policy objectives of the Act remain valid, and the applied terms, regulations and guidelines are largely appropriate for securing those objectives.
The report makes 73 recommendations relating to scheme design, scheme implementation and KPIs.
Ten recommendations were deemed priorities, including an independent claim file review, review of types of claims suitable for internal review, and resolving delays in disputes.
Key recommendations included:
- Extending statutory benefits for minor injuries and at-fault drivers from 26 weeks to 52 weeks
- Removing the 20 month waiting period to lodge a damages claim and the 2 year waiting period before a damages claim can be settled
- All injuries (minor and non-minor injuries) may claim damages if a person has whole person impairment greater than 10%
- SIRA consulting on the term ‘minor injury’
- Psychological or psychiatric injuries resulting from the death or catastrophic injury of a family member are not a ‘minor injury’
- Removing ‘adjustment disorder’ from the minor injury definition
- Assess what steps can be taken to enable a greater proportion of earners to receive their full entitlements sooner and to minimise disputes.
The report also recommended that SIRA consider the recommendations from the review of legal supports, which ranged from no change to existing services to introducing a modified Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service (ILARS). SIRA has commenced analysis and is costing the options from the review of legal supports.
Many operational recommendations to SIRA were already underway ahead of the statutory review, such as improving scheme data collection, monitoring and consulting on changes that would facilitate the use of joint medico-legal assessments in claims for damages.
SIRA will continue to progress work on these and provide advice to the Minister on the recommendations for further changes.