---
title: "Compare a New South Wales death benefit with a relatives action"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/compare-a-statutory-death-benefit-with-a-common-law-dependency-claim/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-FM20261023-11-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Compare a New South Wales death benefit with a relatives action

> In a firm-controlled tool, put the section 25 benefit in one column and the Compensation to Relatives Act claim in the other. Use the amount in force at the date of death, not a figure printed in a consolidation.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/compare-a-statutory-death-benefit-with-a-common-law-dependency-claim/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 | In a firm-controlled tool, put the section 25 benefit in one column and the Compensation to Relatives Act claim in the other. Use the amount in force at the date of death, not a figure printed in a consolidation. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide any overlap. Do not net the columns unless a section you opened says to. Check section 25(4) before you adopt any lump sum. Keep a Motor Accident Injuries Act claim outside the general limitation division, under section 50A(3). |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Compare a statutory death benefit with a common-law dependency claim](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/compare-a-statutory-death-benefit-with-a-common-law-dependency-claim.md) |

## Checking plan

**New South Wales scheme beside the relatives action**

The tool sets the Workers Compensation Act benefit, indexed at death, beside the relatives action, and rows the motor-accident funeral benefit separately.

- What the AI does: In a firm-controlled tool, put the section 25 benefit in one column and the Compensation to Relatives Act claim in the other. Use the amount in force at the date of death, not a figure printed in a consolidation.
- What the lawyer does: Make the legal assessment, check the source material and authorise the output for its intended use.
- 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. Row the lump sum for dependants, or the legal personal representative if there are none, and the weekly amount for each dependent child on the ages in section 25.
2. Do not copy a consolidation dollar figure.
3. Record the icare funeral cap of $15,000 as the page's current figure, and that benefits can differ with the date of death.
4. The SIRA benefits guide was not opened. Do not invent its figures.

## Notes

- Section 25(1) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 provides, if death results from an injury and the worker leaves dependants, a lump sum death benefit apportioned among dependants who were wholly or partly dependent, or if there are none paid to the legal personal representative, plus a weekly amount for each dependent child under 16 and each dependent child who is a student over 16 and under 21. Section 25(4) calculates the lump sum by the amount in force at the date of death. icare's page says current support can include that lump sum, payments for each dependent child, and funeral expenses up to $15,000, and that benefits can differ with the date of death and the original injury. It points to the SIRA workers compensation benefits guide for the figures. The common-law dependency action is the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897. For a motor accident on or after the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, section 3.4 provides statutory benefits for reasonable funeral expenses, and section 50A(3) of the Limitation Act 1969 takes a claim under that Act outside the general personal-injury limitation division.
- Family, wage and medical records stay in a firm-controlled tool. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply. A breach may be notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: New South Wales: Workers Compensation Act 1987 s 25, or Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 s 3.4, beside the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897

**Deliverable**: A comparison with indexed amounts left for the date of death and deduction left blank.

**Inputs**

- Date of death
- Dependants and their ages
- Whether the death was a work injury or a motor accident
- icare page

**Example**: Illustrative example: The consolidation prints a lump sum. The tool leaves the amount blank and cites section 25(4). The lawyer inserts the amount in force at the date of death. Funeral expenses are rowed from the icare page only up to the $15,000 the page states.

**Stop and escalate when**

- A consolidation figure is used as the current benefit.
- A figure is taken from the SIRA benefits guide without opening it.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) s 25](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/wca1987255/s25.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [icare payments for bereaved families](https://www.icare.nsw.gov.au/injured-or-ill-people/workplace-injuries/payments/payments-for-bereaved-families) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) s 3.4](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/maia2017245/s3.4.html) (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.*