Summarise medical reports for a New South Wales permanent impairment question
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Extract the stated diagnosis and any whole person impairment figure from the reports the lawyer supplies, with the page of the report. Do not assess impairment and do not choose which guideline applies.
- What the lawyer must review
- Check each extracted figure against the report page it cites
- For workers compensation, use the SIRA guidelines, fourth edition, reissued 1 March 2021
- For motor accident damages, use Motor Accident Injuries Act sections 4.11 and 1.7, not the Civil Liability Act table
- Keep the reports in a firm-controlled tool (ASCR r 9, APP 11)
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 workers compensation or motor accident impairment assessment
Produce. A table of stated diagnoses and impairment figures, each tied to a report page.
Have ready. The medicolegal and treating reports the lawyer has selected; The scheme the lawyer has named; The current impairment guideline for that scheme.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: One report states 11% for an orthopaedic injury and another states 8% for a psychological injury after the same crash. The tool does not add them. Section 1.7 keeps those assessments separate.
Stop and hand it back when
- The report does not state a figure and the tool would be inventing one.
- The scheme has not been identified, so the wrong threshold would be applied.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Extract the stated diagnosis and any whole person impairment figure from the reports the lawyer supplies, with the page of the report. Do not assess impairment and do not choose which guideline applies. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Do not convert a whole person impairment percentage into a proportion of a most extreme case under section 16.
- For a workers compensation assessment, the SIRA guidelines are the fourth edition, reissued on 1 March 2021, and they refer to AMA5.
- For motor accident damages, section 4.11 requires permanent impairment greater than 10%. Section 1.7 assesses physical and psychological impairment separately and does not add them.
- Work injury damages use section 151H, which is a different threshold from section 4.11.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material for a Victorian WorkSafe Medical Panel | Letter | AI use Yellow | Index and statutory questions for a Medical Panel under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, for an impairment dispute or a court referral. |
| Material for a Victorian Wrongs Act Medical Panel | Letter | AI use Yellow | Claimant's index where a respondent may refer a significant-injury question to a Medical Panel, which states whether the threshold is met and not a percentage. |
| Permanent impairment claim form (SIRA): lump sum workers compensation | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SIRA's permanent impairment claim form, with the form's own threshold words set beside the 11% and 15% figures on SIRA's current permanent impairment page. |
| Material for a Queensland Medical Assessment Tribunal | Letter | AI use Yellow | Worker's index of documents for an insurer's referral to a Medical Assessment Tribunal, with the exchange times and the permanent-impairment questions the Act states. |
| TAC impairment application form (Impairment Assessment Protocols 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form lawyers use to request an impairment assessment under Part 3 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Impairment Assessment Protocols 2026. |
| Index for a NSW Personal Injury Commission medical assessment | Letter | AI use Yellow | Working index and list of matters for a Personal Injury Commission medical assessment, in the workers compensation or motor accidents division, not a letter to the assessor. |
| WorkSafe worker's claim for impairment benefits: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the WorkSafe form a worker uses to claim compensation for permanent impairment from a work injury, which the claims manual treats as a non-economic loss claim. |
| Victorian WorkSafe impairment benefit: stability checklist | Checklist | AI use Yellow | Checklist and short letter asking a WorkSafe agent to assess a permanent impairment benefit once the injury is stable. |
| Magistrates' Court WorkCover referral to a Medical Panel: completion guide | Form | AI use Red | Link to the Magistrates' Court form parties or their practitioners complete and submit with an application to refer a WorkCover matter to a Medical Panel. |
| County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel: guide | Form | AI use Red | Guide to the County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel in a serious injury application for a work injury, from the Common Law Division Practice Note of 9 February 2026. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- SIRA: NSW workers compensation guidelines for the evaluation of permanent impairment · 2026-10-23
- Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), in force from 10 July 2026, sections 1.7 and 4.11 · 2026-10-23
- Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), in force from 1 October 2026, section 151H · 2026-10-23
The motor accident permanent impairment guidelines were not opened. The lawyer uses the current Motor Accident Guidelines for the method of assessment.
PIC13 paragraph 22 requires disclosure if generative AI is used to draft an expert report for the Commission. This task does not draft that report.
Health and wage records stay in a firm-controlled tool. The lawyer applies ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and decides whether any breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).