---
title: "Check a New South Wales journey against the real and substantial connection"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/check-whether-an-injury-on-a-journey-to-or-from-work-is-covered/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-WC20261023-16-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Check a New South Wales journey against the real and substantial connection

> From the route, the date and any stop or impairment, using a firm-controlled tool, table section 10 and the guide's connection test. Do not decide cover. Do not apply the guide to an exempt worker.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/check-whether-an-injury-on-a-journey-to-or-from-work-is-covered/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 | From the route, the date and any stop or impairment, using a firm-controlled tool, table section 10 and the guide's connection test. Do not decide cover. Do not apply the guide to an exempt worker. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide whether section 10 and the connection test are met. Section 10(3A) requires a real and substantial connection for a journey to or from the place of abode. Do not use this guide for an exempt worker. That page was not opened. Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Apply ASCR r 9, APP 11, and the notifiable-breach test. |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Check whether an injury on a journey to or from work is covered](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/check-whether-an-injury-on-a-journey-to-or-from-work-is-covered.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

Section 10(3A) requires a real and substantial connection between the employment and the accident or incident out of which the injury arose, for a journey to or from the place of abode. The guide dates that rule from 19 June 2012 and says the connection is with the accident, not with the injury. Misconduct, alcohol or another drug, a medical condition that the journey did not cause or contribute to, and an unconnected interruption or deviation, are set out as bars. The journey meets the boundary of the land at the place of abode. The guide does not apply to exempt workers.

- What the AI does: From the route, the date and any stop or impairment, using a firm-controlled tool, table section 10 and the guide's connection test. Do not decide cover. Do not apply the guide to an exempt worker.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer decides the legal question, checks the sources, and authorises anything the family or the insurer will receive.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in statutory workers compensation
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Apply section 10 as opened. Do not add a commencement date. The opened section states none.
2. Look for a fact connecting the employment to the accident, not only the fact of travelling home.
3. Check misconduct, alcohol or drugs, a personal medical condition, and any deviation.
4. Record the land boundary. An injury before the worker crosses it is not yet the journey from home.

## Notes

- If this is lodged with the Personal Injury Commission, Procedural Direction PIC13 paragraph 12 forbids a generative tool from writing the content of a person's evidence. Paragraph 10 covers compelled and publication-restricted material. It is not a general health-record rule.
- The section was read on an AustLII consolidation. Confirm the in-force wording on the official legislation site before reliance.
- The guide's discussions of decided cases are the guide's account. A motor-accident claim is a different task. The exempt-worker journey page was not opened.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: New South Wales, Workers Compensation Act 1987, section 10, and the SIRA journey guide

**Deliverable**: A section 10 note for a non-exempt worker.

**Inputs**

- Date and route
- Any fact said to connect the employment with the accident
- Stops, alcohol or drugs, and any personal medical condition
- Whether the worker is exempt

**Example**: Illustrative example: A worker crashes while driving home in the dark after being asked to stay late. The note records the guide's requirement of a real and substantial connection and does not treat the commute as enough. The lawyer decides. The tool does not write that darkness is always enough.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The worker is exempt and the exempt page has not been opened.
- The connection between the employment and the accident is not described.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [AustLII: Workers Compensation Act 1987, section 10](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/wca1987255/s10.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [SIRA claims guide: journey and recess claims](https://www.sira.nsw.gov.au/workers-compensation-claims-guide/understanding-the-claims-journey/eligibility/journey-and-recess-claims) (checked 2026-10-23)

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