---
title: "Identify who benefits under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/identify-who-may-benefit-from-a-dependency-claim-and-who-may-bring-it/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-FM20261023-1-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Identify who benefits under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897

> In a firm-controlled tool, list each person against the classes in sections 4 and 7 of the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897. Leave standing, the plaintiff and the shares blank.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/identify-who-may-benefit-from-a-dependency-claim-and-who-may-bring-it/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, list each person against the classes in sections 4 and 7 of the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897. Leave standing, the plaintiff and the shares blank. |
| What the lawyer must review | Decide who is in the section 4 class, using the section 7 definitions. If there is more than one spouse, record each as a separate party. Use section 6B if there is no executor or administrator, or if none sues within six months. |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Identify who may benefit from a dependency claim and who may bring it](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/identify-who-may-benefit-from-a-dependency-claim-and-who-may-bring-it.md) |

## Checking plan

**New South Wales relatives and plaintiff**

The tool rows people against sections 4 and 7. The lawyer decides who is in the class and who sues.

- What the AI does: In a firm-controlled tool, list each person against the classes in sections 4 and 7 of the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897. Leave standing, the plaintiff and the shares blank.
- 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. Keep the list to spouse, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, parent and child, as extended by section 7.
2. Do not paraphrase the Interpretation Act 1987 definition of de facto partner. That section was not opened.
3. Record one action only. Section 5 says not more than one action shall lie.
4. Leave the jury's shares blank. The current text is the version from 15 July 2018.

## Notes

- Section 4 of the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 brings one action for the benefit of the spouse, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, parent and child, in the name of the executor or administrator. Section 7 defines parent to include a grandparent, step-parent and a person in loco parentis, and child to include a grandchild, stepchild and a person to whom the deceased stood in loco parentis. Spouse means a person to whom the deceased was legally married, or a de facto partner. If there is more than one spouse, each is a separate party. Section 5 says not more than one action shall lie. Section 6B lets a person for whose benefit the action might be brought sue if there is no executor or administrator, or if the executor or administrator does not sue within six months after the death. The jury divides the amount in the shares it finds. The current version on the NSW legislation site is the version from 15 July 2018.
- 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: one action under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897

**Deliverable**: A table of statutory beneficiaries, the plaintiff, and a blank share column.

**Inputs**

- Family documents selected by the lawyer
- Death record
- Any grant or note that no grant has been made

**Example**: Illustrative example: The deceased supported a grandchild and a close friend. The tool includes the grandchild under section 7 and leaves the friend off the statutory list. The lawyer decides whether anyone else fits a listed relationship.

**Stop and escalate when**

- A person is added who fits none of the section 4 or section 7 relationships.
- A second action would be started.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 (NSW), current version](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-1897-031) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 (NSW), whole Act](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-1897-031) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Apportionment of a dependency claim settlement for court approval](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/fatal-dependency-apportionment-outline.md) | Court document | Red | Outline for asking the court to direct each dependant's share of a wrongful-death settlement in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales. The lawyer writes anything that is filed. |

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.*