Check whether section 54 can govern a Queensland scheme insurer's refusal
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- From the refusal and the policy, list the act or omission the insurer names and whether the contract is a Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act contract or a Motor Accident Insurance Act contract. Do not say whether section 54 stops the refusal.
- What the lawyer must review
- Do not treat section 54 as the test until you decide the Insurance Contracts Act applies.
- If the refusal is under a workers' compensation or motor-accident contract, name the scheme Act that governs it.
- You decide whether any act, omission or prejudice matters under the Act that does apply.
- Use a firm-controlled tool. Check ASCR r 9, APP 11 and any notifiable breach.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland scheme insurance and other policies on the same file
Produce. A sorting note for the lawyer, with no view on whether the refusal is effective.
Have ready. The refusal letter; The policy; The Act the insurer relies on.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The CTP insurer refuses the claim because the notice was late. The note records that the policy is a Motor Accident Insurance Act contract and leaves the section 54 row blank.
Stop and hand it back when
- The policy class is not identified.
- Someone asks the tool to say the refusal is, or is not, effective.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. From the refusal and the policy, list the act or omission the insurer names and whether the contract is a Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act contract or a Motor Accident Insurance Act contract. Do not say whether section 54 stops the refusal. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- Mark the contract against section 9 before any section 54 row is filled.
- If section 9 excludes the contract, leave the prejudice analysis blank.
- Do not state a conclusion on the refusal.
Sources
- Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) s 9 · 2026-10-23
- Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) s 37 · 2026-10-23
Health, wage and scheme records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Check ASCR r 9, APP 11, and whether a disclosure is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Section 54 is in the Insurance Contracts Act. Section 9(1)(e) takes outside the Act, except as the Act otherwise provides, a contract entered into for the purposes of a law that relates to workers' compensation, or to compensation for the death of a person, or for injury to a person, arising out of the use of a motor vehicle. Section 9(1)(f) takes outside the Act a contract entered into for the purposes of a workers' compensation law and to provide cover for an employer's common-law liability to pay damages for employment-related personal injury. Section 9(1)(f) is not the motor-injury exclusion. A refusal under an excluded contract is not tested under section 54.
A life policy or an income-protection policy that was not entered for the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act or the Motor Accident Insurance Act stays inside the section 9 question. The tool does not decide that question.