---
title: "Record future-earning assumptions where section 4.7 applies"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/assess-loss-of-earnings-that-cannot-be-tied-to-a-defined-weekly-loss/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-DM20261023-13-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Record future-earning assumptions where section 4.7 applies

> Where the lawyer says a Part 4 award is in view, list the most likely future circumstances and leave the percentage blank. Where the Civil Liability Act applies, do not restate the section 13 task.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/assess-loss-of-earnings-that-cannot-be-tied-to-a-defined-weekly-loss/new-south-wales  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Where the lawyer says a Part 4 award is in view, list the most likely future circumstances and leave the percentage blank. Where the Civil Liability Act applies, do not restate the section 13 task. |
| What the lawyer must review | Section 4.7 requires the assumptions and the percentage to be stated if an award is made Section 13 is a different section and does not apply to a Part 4 award Do not add a residual-discretion section unless the section you are applying states one. Work injury damages do not use section 4.7 |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Assess loss of earnings that cannot be tied to a defined weekly loss](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/assess-loss-of-earnings-that-cannot-be-tied-to-a-defined-weekly-loss.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

The table is the section 4.7 question for a Part 4 award. It does not decide the most likely circumstances.

- What the AI does: Where the lawyer says a Part 4 award is in view, list the most likely future circumstances and leave the percentage blank. Where the Civil Liability Act applies, do not restate the section 13 task.
- What the lawyer does: Decide the most likely circumstances and the percentage, and state them if an award is made.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Section 4.7(1): no damages for future economic loss unless the assumptions accord with the claimant's most likely future circumstances but for the injury.
2. Section 4.7(2) adjusts for the percentage possibility that the events might have occurred but for the injury. Section 4.7(3) requires the assumptions and the percentage to be stated if an award is made.
3. Section 13 of the Civil Liability Act is the parallel rule where Part 2 applies. It is already a separate task. Section 13 is not one of the provisions section 3B(2) keeps for a Part 4 award. Section 3B(1)(f) takes work injury damages outside the Act other than Part 1B.
4. Nothing in sections 12 to 18, as read, is in the terms of a residual discretion to award damages where weekly loss cannot be defined. Do not invent one.

## Notes

- The court or the Commission states the assumptions. The tool does not.
- Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. The lawyer applies ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and decides whether any breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: A Part 4 award under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, or a claim the lawyer has distinguished from one

**Deliverable**: An assumptions table for section 4.7, with the percentage left blank.

**Inputs**

- The future circumstances on the file
- The lawyer's decision that a Part 4 award is in view
- Any percentage the lawyer has already chosen

**Example**: Illustrative example: Two future jobs are still open. The table lists both and leaves the percentage blank. It does not pick the most likely one, and it does not cite section 13.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The claim is not a Part 4 award.
- The table would state the assumptions the lawyer has not chosen.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), in force from 10 July 2026, section 4.7](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2017-010) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), in force from 30 July 2026, sections 3B and 13](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2002-022) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Letter of instruction to a vocational assessor](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/letter-instructing-vocational-assessor.md) | Letter | Yellow | Letter asking a vocational assessor for realistic occupations, hours and sourced earnings, without a diagnosis, an impairment score or a valuation. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*