---
title: "Screen the economic-loss heads allowed for New South Wales work injury damages"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/screen-which-heads-of-loss-a-work-injury-damages-claim-can-include/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-WD20261023-7-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Screen the economic-loss heads allowed for New South Wales work injury damages

> In the firm-controlled tool, list the heads section 151G allows and the heads SIRA says are not available. Do not calculate an amount.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/screen-which-heads-of-loss-a-work-injury-damages-claim-can-include/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 the firm-controlled tool, list the heads section 151G allows and the heads SIRA says are not available. Do not calculate an amount. |
| What the lawyer must review | Confirm the heads before any schedule is built. Do not add pain and suffering, care or treatment unless section 151G does not apply. Flag a coal miner, or another specific case, for a separate check. Keep medical and wage records in the firm-controlled tool. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply. |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Screen which heads of loss a work injury damages claim can include](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/screen-which-heads-of-loss-a-work-injury-damages-claim-can-include.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

Limit the list to past economic loss due to loss of earnings and future economic loss due to deprivation or impairment of earning capacity.

- What the AI does: In the firm-controlled tool, list the heads section 151G allows and the heads SIRA says are not available. Do not calculate an amount.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer confirms the section 151G heads before a schedule is built.
- 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. Limit the list to past economic loss due to loss of earnings and future economic loss due to deprivation or impairment of earning capacity.
2. Do not apply section 151G to an award under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897.
3. Exclude general damages, domestic assistance and medical treatment expenses, as SIRA states, unless a specific exception applies.
4. Flag coal miners and the other specific circumstances SIRA mentions. Do not invent the different rules.

## Notes

- Section 151G says the only damages that may be awarded are damages for past economic loss due to loss of earnings, and damages for future economic loss due to the deprivation or impairment of earning capacity. The section does not apply to an award of damages under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897. SIRA says there is no entitlement to general damages for pain and suffering, domestic assistance, medical treatment expenses, or other traditional common law damages. SIRA also says different rules apply to coal miners and in other specific circumstances. Those rules were not extracted. A successful claim extinguishes ongoing statutory benefits for the injury, and weekly benefits already paid are to be repaid, as the claims guide states.
- Keep health and wage records 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: the damages limited by section 151G of the Workers Compensation Act 1987

**Deliverable**: A list of the New South Wales heads section 151G allows, with no figures.

**Inputs**

- The injury and the period of loss
- Whether the claim is a Compensation to Relatives Act claim
- Whether the worker is a coal miner

**Example**: Illustrative example: The draft schedule includes domestic assistance and treatment expenses. The tool moves those items off the section 151G list. The lawyer checks whether a specific exception applies.

**Stop and escalate when**

- It is not clear whether section 151G applies.
- The tool has calculated a weekly loss.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) s 151G](https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/wca1987255/s151g.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [SIRA workers compensation claims guide: Work injury damages](https://www.sira.nsw.gov.au/workers-compensation-claims-guide/understanding-the-claims-journey/work-injury-damages-and-recoveries/work-injury-damages) (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.*