Record the NSW section 59A period for treatment and rehabilitation expenses
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the permanent-impairment percentage, the injury type and the weekly-payment dates the lawyer supplies, apply only the compensation periods in section 59A. Record the start day the section states. If the lawyer marks high needs or highest needs, record that the section does not apply and do not invent a period.
- What the lawyer must review
- A primary psychological injury is one year, not the two-year or five-year period
- Ten per cent or less, or no assessment yet, is two years. More than 10 and up to 20 is five years
- The 2021 SIRA factsheet does not state the one-year primary psychological injury period
- The lawyer confirms high needs, highest needs, and the aid and secondary-surgery exclusions
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. NSW workers compensation medical, hospital and rehabilitation expenses under section 59A
Produce. The compensation period in section 59A, the start day, and any reason the section does not apply.
Have ready. Whether the injury is a primary psychological injury; The assessed permanent impairment, or the fact it has not been assessed; Whether weekly payments were paid and the day they ceased; The lawyer's mark for high needs or highest needs.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The lawyer says the injury is a primary psychological injury, weekly payments stopped on 1 June, and the worker is not marked as having highest needs. The sheet records one year from 1 June. It does not apply the five-year period.
Stop and hand it back when
- The injury type or the weekly-payment history is missing.
- The worker may have high needs or highest needs and the definition has not been applied.
- The expense is an artificial aid, a home or vehicle modification, or secondary surgery.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Do not begin AI assistance until the responsible lawyer has defined and confirmed its permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- For an injury other than a primary psychological injury, 10 per cent or less, or an impairment not assessed under the stated parts, is two years. More than 10 per cent but not more than 20 per cent is five years.
- The two-year or five-year period starts on the day the claim was first made if weekly payments are not payable or have not been paid, and otherwise on the day weekly payments cease to be payable.
- A primary psychological injury is one year, starting on the same alternative days. Section 59A(5) says the section does not apply to a worker with high needs, or, for a primary psychological injury, a worker with highest needs. Those definitions were not opened.
- Section 59A(6) also leaves out crutches, artificial members, eyes, teeth and other artificial aids, spectacles, hearing aids, home or vehicle modification, and secondary surgery as defined in subsection (7).
Sources
- Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) section 59A · 2026-10-23
- SIRA: Cessation of medical, hospital and rehabilitation expenses (section 59A) · 2026-10-23
The SIRA factsheet updated on 11 October 2021 states two years at 10 per cent or less and five years at 11 to 20 per cent. It does not state the one-year period for a primary psychological injury now in section 59A. Use the section.
If weekly payments later become payable, section 59A(3) makes treatment compensation payable again for the period of those weekly payments.
Treatment records are health information. Keep them in a firm-controlled tool. A breach may be notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).