Record the Victorian time to challenge a TAC or WorkSafe compensation decision
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Record the Victorian time limits for challenging a TAC decision or a WorkSafe agent or self-insurer decision, from the date the client became aware of it. Do not write the request.
- What the lawyer must review
- Record both clocks: Workplace Injury Commission conciliation, and the TAC review paths.
- An informal TAC review does not stop the 12 months from awareness.
- The tool records the dates. It does not write the request. A late application is not a refusal.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victoria: Workplace Injury Commission conciliation, and TAC informal review, pre-issue review and VCAT
Produce. A date record with the awareness date and the last day on each open path, and no request.
Have ready. The decision and who made it; The date the client received or became aware of it; Whether a pre-issue review has been started; Whether the lawyer is an LIV or ALA member.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The agent decision was received 50 days ago and the TAC decision was learned of 11 months ago. The tool records day 60 for conciliation and the 12-month TAC awareness date, and notes that an informal review would not stop that date. The lawyer decides which request to make.
Stop and hand it back when
- A 30-day period is about to be recorded for a TAC or WorkSafe decision.
- The request itself would have to be written.
- A late conciliation application is about to be treated as already refused.
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
- WorkSafe: send the Application for Conciliation within 60 days of receiving the agent or self-insurer decision. Late applications can be considered if a reason is given. Conciliation is also available if the agent has not responded or paid within a reasonable time. The page says conciliation is essential before arbitration or court.
- TAC informal review: the Request for an Informal Review goes to the Review Manager within 12 months of becoming aware of the decision. If still in progress at 12 months from the decision, it continues. It does not stop the 12 months.
- A pre-issue (dispute) application is within 12 months of awareness, in writing through the legal representative. Further information then unavailable must be provided within 28 days. TAC must commence the review within 28 days of a standard and complete application by acknowledging it. If it does not, the policy treats the decision as affirmed.
- VCAT: within 12 months of being aware of the decision, or 3 months of being notified of the TAC's decision on a pre-issue review, whichever is last. An intention to apply is not enough. The policy cites section 77, which was not opened.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covering letter for NIISQ internal review of eligibility or treatment, care and support | Letter | AI use Yellow | Covering letter for the NIISQ internal review form, with eligibility and treatment, care and support kept apart. |
| Lifetime Care eligibility dispute, and request to review an assessment panel decision | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter disputing a Lifetime Care eligibility decision, with a separate written request to review an assessment panel decision on the four grounds the icare page lists. |
| Review form (SIRA): ask the insurer to review a work capacity or liability decision | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SIRA's review form. |
| Request to a scheme insurer for written reasons and the documents relied on | Letter | AI use Yellow | A letter asking a statutory insurer for the reasons for a decision and the documents relied on, using the request that exists for that scheme, with a cover for the Transport Accident Commission informal review form. |
| Response to an insurer's denial of liability | Letter | AI use Yellow | A letter identifying an insurer's denial, stating the facts the client disputes, asking for reconsideration, and listing documents still missing. |
| Request for a review of a New South Wales motor accident or workers compensation decision | Letter | AI use Yellow | A New South Wales letter asking a motor accident insurer for an internal review, or a workers compensation insurer for a review under section 287A. |
| Covering letter for an application to review a Queensland workers' compensation decision | Letter | AI use Yellow | A covering letter for the approved application to the Workers' Compensation Regulator, with draft grounds, the documents to be considered, and a request for reasons where the notice gave none. |
| Covering letter for a Workplace Injury Commission conciliation application | Letter | AI use Yellow | Covering letter sent with a Workplace Injury Commission Application for Conciliation. |
| Application for claim review (Workers' Compensation Regulator Form 542.3) | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to Form 542.3, version 6, the approved application for review under section 542, on which the applicant states the grounds and signs. |
| Workplace Injury Commission application for conciliation: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the Workplace Injury Commission application for conciliation, including the 60-day period, the documents to attach, and the signature and authorisation in section 5. |
| VCAT review of a TAC decision: application completion guide | Form | AI use Red | Guide to asking VCAT to review a TAC decision, using the TAC page's 12-month period and VCAT's Application for Review of a Decision in the Review and Regulation List. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Workplace Injury Commission: Conciliation · 2026-10-23
- TAC: Reviewing a TAC decision (updated 24 August 2026) · 2026-10-23
No Victorian equivalent of a single 30-day reconsideration was opened for these decisions. Do not record a 30-day Commonwealth period.
Represented clients whose lawyer is an LIV or ALA member may not issue at VCAT unless a pre-issue review has been completed, except where both the client and the TAC consent in writing. Do not state the VCAT fee. Fee relief exists on the policy page.
The tool does not write the conciliation form, the informal-review form, the dispute application or the VCAT application.