---
title: "Separate Victorian significant-injury damages from the safety-defect regime"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/work-out-which-damages-rules-apply-to-a-safety-defect-injury/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-PR20261023-6-VIC"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Separate Victorian significant-injury damages from the safety-defect regime

> List the heads of loss and the tests the lawyer names. Keep Part VIB on the Part 3-5 claim. Put Wrongs Act s 28LE only on a fault claim. Do not write the advice or state a dollar cap.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/work-out-which-damages-rules-apply-to-a-safety-defect-injury/victoria  
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 | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | List the heads of loss and the tests the lawyer names. Keep Part VIB on the Part 3-5 claim. Put Wrongs Act s 28LE only on a fault claim. Do not write the advice or state a dollar cap. |
| What the lawyer must review | Write the advice. Part VIB applies to the Part 3-5 claim through s 87E, in this court or the Federal Court. Use s 28LE only where the injury was caused by fault. Significant injury uses the s 28LB threshold level. Do not use s 275 or s 137C as the Part 3-5 cap. Use the indexed s 87M amount, not the printed commencement-year figure. Keep health records in a firm-controlled tool. |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Work out which damages rules apply to a safety-defect injury](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/work-out-which-damages-rules-apply-to-a-safety-defect-injury.md) |

## Checking plan

**Lawyer-led judgement**

The Federal Court and the Supreme Court apply Part VIB to a Part 3-5 personal-injury claim. Victoria adds the significant-injury threshold for a fault claim. The lawyer writes the advice.

- What the AI does: List the heads of loss and the tests the lawyer names. Keep Part VIB on the Part 3-5 claim. Put Wrongs Act s 28LE only on a fault claim. Do not write the advice or state a dollar cap.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer writes which damages rules apply in Victoria.
- 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. Confirm s 87S: no non-economic loss below 15 per cent of a most extreme case, on the Part 3-5 claim.
2. Do not state a current dollar maximum. Section 87M prints $250,000 only for the commencement year.
3. Threshold level is more than 5 per cent, 10 per cent or more for psychiatric injury, and 5 per cent or more for spinal injury.
4. Do not describe s 28LF(2). That subsection was not read to the end.

## Notes

- If the work reaches the Supreme Court of Victoria, Practice Note SC GEN 25 requires the lawyer to verify output. Do not put health records into a public AI tool. One AI tool cannot verify another.
- The Part VIB band between 15 per cent and 33 per cent was not opened, so no percentage is stated for a loss in that band.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of Victoria, for a fault count beside a Part 3-5 claim

**Deliverable**: The lawyer's note of which Victorian threshold applies, and which Commonwealth rules apply to the safety-defect claim.

**Inputs**

- The causes of action pleaded
- The injury summary accepted by the lawyer

**Example**: Illustrative example: The pleading alleges fault and a safety defect. The lawyer applies s 28LE to the fault count only, and Part VIB to the Part 3-5 count. The tool does not pick the larger figure.

**Stop and escalate when**

- A state threshold is applied to the Part 3-5 claim.
- A stale dollar cap is written into the advice.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), s 28LE and s 28LB](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/wa1958111/s28lb.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), s 87E and s 87S](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/caca2010265/s87e.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

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