Test a motor accident injury against the New South Wales threshold-injury definition
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Where the lawyer says the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 applies, set out section 1.6 for each injury the lawyer lists and leave the classification blank. Do not decide whether an injury is a threshold injury.
- What the lawyer must review
- A threshold injury is a soft tissue injury, or a psychological injury that is not a recognised psychiatric illness
- Adjustment disorder and acute stress disorder are threshold illnesses on the SIRA page
- If one injury is not a threshold injury, the claim is not a threshold-injury claim
- The insurer decides. Internal review is within 28 days. A further dispute goes to the Commission
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. A statutory-benefits claim under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017
Produce. A row for each injury against section 1.6, with the classification left blank.
Have ready. The injuries the lawyer has taken from the reports; The lawyer's decision that the Motor Accident Injuries Act applies; Any liability notice already received.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The file has a whiplash injury and a diagnosed fracture. The table keeps them in separate rows. It does not call the claim a threshold-injury claim, because one injury may fall outside section 1.6.
Stop and hand it back when
- The lawyer has not said that the Motor Accident Injuries Act applies.
- The table would state a classification the reports do not support.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Where the lawyer says the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 applies, set out section 1.6 for each injury the lawyer lists and leave the classification blank. Do not decide whether an injury is a threshold injury. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Section 1.6(1): a threshold injury is a soft tissue injury, or a psychological or psychiatric injury that is not a recognised psychiatric illness.
- Section 1.6(2) excludes an injury to nerves and a complete or partial rupture of tendons, ligaments, menisci or cartilage. Section 1.6(3) is repealed. The regulations may include or exclude an injury. The regulations were not opened.
- The SIRA page, updated 13 October 2025, gives adjustment disorder and acute stress disorder as threshold psychiatric injuries, and depression and post-traumatic stress disorder as examples that are not.
- Benefits for a threshold injury may run for up to 52 weeks. The insurer gives a liability notice within nine months of the claim being lodged. An internal review is requested within 28 days of receiving that notice.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Request to the Transport Accident Commission for a serious injury certificate | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking the Transport Accident Commission to determine impairment and, if it is under 30 per cent, to issue a serious injury certificate for a common law damages claim. |
| 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. |
| TAC serious injury application form (Common Law Protocols 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form lawyers use to request a serious injury certificate under Part 6 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Common Law Protocols 2026, including the section 93(17) limbs and the signed authority. |
| 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. |
| TAC common law time limit notification form: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form used when a serious injury certificate application will be lodged outside the six-year period in the Limitation of Actions Act 1958, under the Common Law Protocol 2026. |
| Non-economic loss workings | Other | AI use Yellow | Workings for pain and suffering and loss of amenities: the Victorian threshold and gazetted cap, the Queensland injury scale for 2026–27, and the New South Wales proportion of a most extreme case. |
| Request that a NSW CTP insurer concede impairment greater than 10 per cent | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a New South Wales CTP insurer to concede that permanent impairment from a motor accident is greater than 10 per cent, and recording the section 6.14 time for a damages claim. |
| NSW work injury damages: claim letter and pre-filing checklist | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter to a New South Wales workers compensation insurer claiming work injury damages, with a checklist for the section 315 pre-filing statement. |
| 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. |
| WorkSafe Form A, application for common law damages: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to WorkSafe Form A for an application under section 328 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 or section 134AB(4) of the Accident Compensation Act 1985. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), in force from 10 July 2026, section 1.6 · 2026-10-23
- SIRA: Understanding threshold injury, updated 13 October 2025 · 2026-10-23
- SIRA: Motor crash compensation disputes · 2026-10-23
The SIRA threshold page still says a further dispute may go to SIRA's Dispute Resolution Service. The SIRA disputes page says the further dispute is lodged with the Personal Injury Commission if the internal review is unsatisfactory or is not provided within 28 days. Follow the disputes page for the forum, and check it again before a dispute is lodged.
The Motor Accident Guidelines may provide for the assessment. This table uses the Act and the SIRA explanation. It does not apply an assessment method.
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).