Screen an NSW negligence claim for pure mental harm under section 31
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Where the lawyer says Part 3 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 applies, build a table asking whether the harm is pure mental harm and whether it consists of a recognised psychiatric illness. Do not answer those questions.
- What the lawyer must review
- Section 31 bars damages for pure mental harm unless the harm is a recognised psychiatric illness
- Part 3 applies to motor accidents. It does not apply to work injury damages or dust-disease damages
- The lawyer decides the diagnosis and writes any pleading or advice
- Section 32 is a separate duty question. Do not treat it as answered by section 31
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. NSW claim in negligence to which Part 3 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 applies
Produce. A question table for pure mental harm, without an answer on diagnosis.
Have ready. The lawyer's statement of whether Part 3 applies; The harm described in the medical material the lawyer supplies.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: A relative develops depression after witnessing a collision. The table asks whether the harm is pure mental harm and whether it is a recognised psychiatric illness. It does not record a diagnosis.
Stop and hand it back when
- The claim is for work injury damages or dust-disease damages.
- The harm is consequential on the person's own physical injury and the lawyer has not said section 31 is the question.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Where the lawyer says Part 3 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 applies, build a table asking whether the harm is pure mental harm and whether it consists of a recognised psychiatric illness. Do not answer those questions. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Use section 31 only if the lawyer says the claim is negligence to which Part 3 applies.
- Section 3B(2)(e) applies Part 3 to motor accidents. Section 3B(1)(f) excludes work injury damages. Section 3B(1)(b) excludes dust-disease damages except the sections it saves.
- Section 33 uses the same recognised-psychiatric-illness limit for economic loss for consequential mental harm. Do not apply section 31 to that question unless the lawyer says the harm is pure.
- Section 32 asks whether a person of normal fortitude might have suffered a recognised psychiatric illness, and lists further circumstances for pure mental harm. Leave that decision to the lawyer.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of instruction to a psychiatrist | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist for diagnosis, causation, treatment and capacity in a plaintiff claim, and for a clinical view on recognised psychiatric illness, without asking for the legal test. |
| Psychiatrist's instructions on a recognised psychiatric illness | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist whether there is a recognised psychiatric illness for a mental harm claim, without asking the psychiatrist to apply the statutory tests. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 31 · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 3B · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 32 · 2026-10-23
- NSW legislation: Civil Liability Act 2002, current version · 2026-10-23
The official legislation page shows the Civil Liability Act current from 30 July 2026. The section text used here was read on the AustLII consolidation.
A pleading is the lawyer's. If the matter is in court, Practice Note SC Gen 23 limits the use of generative AI in submissions and prohibits its use to generate the content of evidence.