Updates to the Motor Accident Guidelines

24 September 2025

Version 10 of the Motor Accident Guidelines (the Guidelines) commenced on 15 September 2025.  The new Guidelines , along with a Summary of Changes outlining what has changed from the previous version,  can be found on the SIRA Website.

The Guidelines sit under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (the Act) and set out in more detail how the CTP Scheme works in practice.

SIRA conducts regular reviews of the Guidelines to ensure they continue to address emerging issues in the NSW Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme. Some key changes included in the version 10 update include:

• The addition of a Terminology Note on the SIRA website to acknowledge the strong preference of some stakeholders for the term ‘motor crash’ to be used but noting the need for the Guidelines to use  ‘motor accident’ to align with the legislation.
• Amendments to provide for situations where the direct communication of distressing content may pose a serious threat to someone’s health or safety, and to further reduce the risk of traumatising information or images being provided to people whose claim relates to a death or psychological injury.
• A new provision added in response to a recent Supreme Court decision about Whole Person Impairment assessment reports – to provide a clearer next step for all parties if the insurer requires further information.
• Amendments to improve the clarity of liability decision notices so people with claims can better understand the outcome and effect of the insurer’s decision.
• A new requirement for insurers to provide a written notice regarding the calculation of pre-accident weekly earnings so that people with a claim can understand how their amount of weekly benefits has been calculated and what information was considered by the insurer.
• The consolidation of some provisions to streamline the requirements of insurers and remove some clauses that unnecessarily duplicate provisions in the Act.
• The relocation of a lengthy schedule from Part 4 of the Guidelines to the SIRA website, following amendments to the Act in 2022.

SIRA conducted two rounds of targeted consultation and received extensive and varied feedback from stakeholders while preparing version 10.

All feedback has been carefully considered and SIRA appreciates the time taken to provide input.

Read the Motor Accident Guidelines