Diary a Comcare decision period for a Commonwealth worker in New South Wales
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the date the lawyer says a complete initial claim, or a claimant's reconsideration request, was received, count that day as day one. Apply 20 calendar days for an injury other than a disease, 60 for a disease, and 30 for a claimant's reconsideration request. Do not treat a missed date as a deemed decision.
- What the lawyer must review
- Confirm a Commonwealth claim. Do not use a New South Wales workers compensation period
- The count starts when the approved form and the medical certificate are both received
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or a local holiday, move to the next day that is not
- A missed date is not a deemed determination. Check whether any days are frozen
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. A Commonwealth worker whose claim is managed by Comcare or a licensee, including a worker in New South Wales
Produce. A diary note of the Comcare date, with the inputs the lawyer still has to confirm.
Have ready. The date the lawyer says the complete claim or the claimant's request was received; Whether the injury is a disease; Any notice that days are not being counted.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The approved form arrived on a Wednesday and the medical certificate arrived the following Monday. The tool counts 20 calendar days for a non-disease injury from that Monday, and notes that section 261 of the 1998 Act is not the period.
Stop and hand it back when
- The diary uses 6 months, 260 weeks, or a Personal Injury Commission period.
- The form has arrived but the medical certificate has not, and the count has been started anyway.
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
- Comcare's guidance, for claims and claimant reconsideration requests received on and from 1 April 2024, prescribes 20 calendar days for an injury other than a disease or an aggravation of such an injury, 60 calendar days for a disease, and 30 calendar days for a claimant's request to reconsider a determination. The periods apply to Comcare and to self-insured licensees. They do not apply to an employer's reconsideration request, or to a reconsideration the authority makes on its own motion.
- The count starts when the determining authority receives an initial claim made in accordance with section 54, or a claimant's reconsideration request under section 38 or 62. Under section 54(2) and (3), as the guidance states them, a claim is a written claim on a Comcare-approved form and a certificate by a legally qualified medical practitioner. The form without the certificate does not start the count. The day of receipt is day one, including a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
- If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or a holiday in the place where the decision is made, the decision can be made on the next day that is not. The guidance treats a holiday as a public holiday there, and as a day the particular office is closed for the whole day. The regulations do not prescribe a deemed determination if the time is missed.
- The guidance says calendar days are not counted while information is sought under sections 57, 58 or 71, or while a further medical report is reasonably required. The count recommences the day after the information is received. Section 261 of the 1998 Act and sections 39, 39A and 39B of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 are New South Wales periods. They are not this diary.
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. |
| Request that a NSW CTP insurer concede impairment greater than 10 per cent | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a New South Wales CTP insurer to concede that permanent impairment from a motor accident is greater than 10 per cent, and recording the section 6.14 time for a damages claim. |
| NSW work injury damages: claim letter and pre-filing checklist | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter to a New South Wales workers compensation insurer claiming work injury damages, with a checklist for the section 315 pre-filing statement. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Comcare: Statutory timeframes for decision-making under the SRC Act · 2026-10-23
- Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW) section 261 · 2026-10-23
- Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) section 39, current version from 1 October 2026 · 2026-10-23
A Commonwealth employee working in New South Wales is not, on these sources, placed in the New South Wales workers compensation scheme or the Personal Injury Commission for this decision period.
The guidance attributes the periods to section 11A of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2019 and to sections 61(1A) and 62(6) of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. Those instrument texts were not opened separately.
Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules rule 9 and Australian Privacy Principle 11 apply, and a breach may be notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).