Separate physical and psychological impairment for New South Wales work injury damages
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- In the firm-controlled tool, list the physical assessment and the psychological assessment separately against section 151H. Do not combine them.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether each assessment can meet its own threshold.
- Do not use a secondary psychological injury for the 25 per cent threshold.
- Record the SIRA 15 per cent wording beside the section.
- Keep medical and wage records in the firm-controlled tool. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. New South Wales: separate physical and psychological impairment under section 151H
Produce. A two-column note of the physical assessment and the psychological assessment, each with its section 151H threshold.
Have ready. Physical assessment; Psychological assessment; Whether the psychological injury is secondary.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The psychological impairment is described as secondary to the physical injury and is assessed at 30 per cent. The tool does not use it to meet the psychological threshold. The lawyer checks that description against the reports.
Stop and hand it back when
- The reports do not say whether the psychological injury is secondary.
- The tool has combined the two percentages.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | In the firm-controlled tool, list the physical assessment and the psychological assessment separately against section 151H. Do not combine them. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Apply at least 15 per cent to the physical injury and at least 25 per cent to the psychological injury.
- Disregard a secondary psychological injury in the psychological assessment, as section 151H(3) states.
- Disregard psychological impairment or symptoms in the physical assessment, as section 151H(4) states.
- Do not replace section 151H with the single 15 per cent figure on the SIRA guide.
Sources
- Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) s 151H · 2026-10-23
- SIRA workers compensation claims guide: Work injury damages · 2026-10-23
Section 151H(2) sets at least 15 per cent for a physical injury and at least 25 per cent for a psychological injury. Section 151H(3) requires the assessments to be made separately and says no regard is had to impairment resulting from a secondary psychological injury when assessing the degree of permanent impairment from a psychological injury. Section 151H(4) says no regard is had to impairment or symptoms resulting from a psychological injury when assessing the degree of permanent impairment from a physical injury. The SIRA claims guide still describes a single threshold of at least 15 per cent. The lawyer uses the section.
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).