Keep Queensland physical and psychological impairments separate for damages
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- In the firm-controlled tool, list each notice of assessment on its own and the degree it states. Do not add a physical degree and a psychological degree.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether each injury can support the damages gateway on its own.
- Do not add impairments to reach 20 per cent.
- Read the election against the notice it belongs to.
- 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. Queensland: separate notices of assessment for a physical injury and a psychological injury
Produce. A two-column note of each Queensland impairment, its degree, and whether an election attaches to it.
Have ready. Each notice of assessment; The degree stated on that notice.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The physical notice is 22 per cent and the psychological notice is 8 per cent. The tool does not combine them. The lawyer considers an election only for the psychological injury.
Stop and hand it back when
- A notice is missing for one of the injuries.
- The tool has produced a combined degree.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | In the firm-controlled tool, list each notice of assessment on its own and the degree it states. Do not add a physical degree and a psychological degree. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Keep a psychiatric or psychological injury under section 189(1)(a)(i)(A) separate from another injury under section 189(1)(a)(i)(B).
- Do not combine degrees. WorkSafe gives the example of a physical degree and a psychological degree.
- Apply the 20 per cent line to the notice being read, not to a total.
- Do not use a comparison table in place of the notice.
Sources
- Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) s 189 · 2026-10-23
- WorkSafe Queensland: Making a common law claim · 2026-10-23
- Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) s 237 · 2026-10-23
Section 189 deals separately with a psychiatric or psychological injury under 20 per cent and with another injury under 20 per cent. WorkSafe states that different impairments cannot be combined to reach 20 per cent, and gives the example of a physical degree and a psychological degree. Each notice of assessment is read on its own before any election is described. Section 237 asks whether a notice has been received for the injury being considered, or whether there is no notice for that injury but a notice for another injury from the same event and, for the assessed injury, a degree of permanent impairment of 20 per cent or more or an election under section 239.
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).