Statutory review of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 now underway

Overview

The scheduled statutory review of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 is currently underway.

Clayton Utz and Deloitte have been commissioned to conduct the review for the Minister for Digital and Minister for Customer Service, the Hon. Victor Dominello.

Background

The Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (the 2017 Act), which commenced on 1 December 2017, legislates compulsory third party (CTP) insurance and provision of benefits and support relating to the death of or injury to persons as a consequence of motor accidents.

Under section 1.3, the objects of the 2017 Act are:

(a) to encourage early and appropriate treatment and care to achieve optimum recovery of persons from injuries sustained in motor accidents and to maximise their return to work or other activities

(b) to provide early and ongoing financial support for persons injured in motor accidents

(c) to continue to make third-party bodily insurance compulsory for all owners of motor vehicles registered in New South Wales

(d) to keep premiums for third-party policies affordable by ensuring that profits achieved by insurers do not exceed the amount that is sufficient to underwrite the relevant risk and by limiting benefits payable for minor injuries

(e) to promote competition and innovation in the setting of premiums for third-party policies, and to provide the Authority with a role to ensure the sustainability and affordability of the compulsory third-party insurance scheme and fair market practices

(f)  to deter fraud in connection with compulsory third-party insurance

(g) to encourage the early resolution of motor accident claims and the quick, cost effective and just resolution of disputes

(h) to ensure the collection and use of data to facilitate the effective management of the compulsory third-party insurance scheme.

According to section 11.13 of the Act, the statutory review of the Act is to be undertaken three years after its commencement.

A report on the outcome of the review is be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of that period of three years, by 1 December 2021.

Details

The review will assess whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid, and whether the terms of the Act, the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation 2017 and the Motor Accident Guidelines remain appropriate for securing those objectives.

The review will consider all aspects of the 2017 CTP scheme including:

• the effectiveness of the scheme in ensuring insurers are receiving a fair but not excessive profit margin
• the general performance of insurers in the scheme
• the timeliness of the provision of benefits to injured people
• the proportion of each dollar of premiums collected that directly benefits injured people
• whether further changes are needed to the scheme.

See the Review terms of reference for more information.

Consultation

As part of the review, Clayton Utz and Deloitte are seeking feedback from injured people, organisations and members of the public.

There are two ways you can provide feedback:

1. Respond to the consultation discussion paper

The discussion paper outlines key questions to be addressed as part of the review.

Submissions may address the questions in the discussion paper or relate generally to the objectives of the Act and the 2017 CTP scheme. Interested persons and stakeholders are encouraged to submit a response.

The Independent Reviewers have received and referenced all recent submissions on relevant topics, including those to the recent Standing Committee on Law and Justice. Stakeholders do not need to resubmit previous submissions and are instead encouraged to focus on any additional areas and responses to the questions posed in the discussion paper.

Answering the questions

• Go to Appendix A: Questions for Stakeholders on pages 60-65 for a summary of all the questions
• You only need to provide a response to questions that are relevant to you
• Submit your responses by email to: [email protected]

Submissions close Monday 2 August 2021.

2. Participate in targeted stakeholder workshops

Clayton Utz and Deloitte will hold targeted stakeholder workshops commencing the end of July and into early August 2021. If you would like to participate in these workshops please email [email protected].