---
title: "Test a New South Wales injury against the damages threshold that applies"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/test-an-injury-against-the-significant-injury-description/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-WR20261022-8-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Test a New South Wales injury against the damages threshold that applies

> Record which damages threshold the lawyer names, and leave the severity or impairment figure blank.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/test-an-injury-against-the-significant-injury-description/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 | Record which damages threshold the lawyer names, and leave the severity or impairment figure blank. Do not treat a whole person impairment percentage as a proportion of a most extreme case, and do not calculate the section 16 table. |
| What the lawyer must review | Where the Civil Liability Act applies, non-economic loss needs at least 15% of a most extreme case The section 16 maximum is indexed under section 17. Do not state a dollar figure A Motor Accident Injuries Act damages claim uses section 4.11, greater than 10%, kept separate under section 1.7 Work injury damages use section 151H. Check the 2026 savings before using 15% and 25% |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Test an injury against the significant-injury description](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/test-an-injury-against-the-significant-injury-description.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

The table names the gateway that applies and leaves the figure blank. It does not calculate damages.

- What the AI does: Record which damages threshold the lawyer names, and leave the severity or impairment figure blank. Do not treat a whole person impairment percentage as a proportion of a most extreme case, and do not calculate the section 16 table.
- What the lawyer does: Decide which Act applies, whether the threshold is met, and which transitional rule applies to a work injury.
- 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. Where Part 2 applies, section 16(1) bars non-economic loss damages unless severity is at least 15% of a most extreme case. Do not convert a whole person impairment percentage into that proportion, and do not apply the section 16(3) table in the tool.
2. Section 17 requires the Minister to declare the maximum by 1 October each year. The declared amount applies instead of the figure printed in section 16(2). The current declaration was not opened. Do not state a dollar maximum.
3. For an award under Part 4 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, section 4.11 requires permanent impairment greater than 10%. Section 1.7 assesses physical impairment separately from psychological or psychiatric impairment and does not add them. The threshold is met if either is greater than 10%.
4. For work injury damages, section 151H requires death, or at least 15% for a physical injury and at least 25% for a psychological injury, assessed separately. Secondary psychological injury is disregarded for the psychological assessment. Once one threshold is met, damages may be awarded for both. A physical assessment disregards impairment or symptoms from a psychological injury.
5. Schedule 6 Part 19Q clause 2(2) keeps the earlier section 151H threshold where the injury was notified before the 2026 amendment. That earlier percentage was not opened. The amendments do not apply to an exempt worker, a coal miner, a dust disease under the Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942, or a claim under the Workers Compensation (Bush Fire, Emergency and Rescue Services) Act 1987.

## Notes

- New South Wales has no category called significant injury. The question is which of these thresholds applies.
- Part 19Q clause 2(1) also deals with injuries received or notified on or after commencement, claims made on or after, and proceedings started on or after. The lawyer reads clause 2 with clauses 3 to 6 before using 15% and 25%.
- 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).

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: A New South Wales damages claim, once the lawyer has identified the Act that governs it

**Deliverable**: A record of the applicable threshold, with the severity or impairment figure left blank.

**Inputs**

- The Act the lawyer says applies
- The injury type: physical, psychological, or both
- For a work injury, the date the injury was notified and whether an exemption may apply

**Example**: Illustrative example: A report states 18% whole person impairment for a public-liability injury. The table does not treat 18% as 18% of a most extreme case. It leaves the section 16 severity blank for the lawyer.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The governing statute has not been identified.
- The injury is a work injury and the lawyer has not checked whether the 2026 threshold or an earlier one applies.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), in force from 30 July 2026, sections 16 and 17](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2002-022) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), in force from 10 July 2026, sections 1.7 and 4.11](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-2017-010) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), in force from 1 October 2026, section 151H and Schedule 6 Part 19Q](https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/whole/html/inforce/current/act-1987-070) (checked 2026-10-23)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Wrongs Act Form 4, claimant's prescribed information: completion guide](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/personal-injury-and-compensation/form-vic-wrongs-form-4.md) | Form | Yellow | Guide to Form 4, the claimant's prescribed information named on the Medical Panels Wrongs Act referrals page, including the section 28LZC(b) certification. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*