By David Weng and Rita Yousef -
Snapshot
- Following the statutory review of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, much needed changes were introduced to the Motor Accident Injuries Amendment Act 2022.
- Most of the changes came into effect on 1 April 2023. Not all changes are retrospective.
- From 1 April 2023, there will be changes to the definition of minor injury, statutory benefits scheme and claims for damages.
The State government introduced the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) (‘2017 Act’) to overhaul the compulsory third-party (‘CTP’) compensation scheme in NSW, which was perceived by some to be too expensive and riddled with fraud.
In March 2022, we reported on the Statutory Review of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), which resulted in 73 recommendations for changes to and improvement of the scheme following widespread concerns from the profession (Rita Yousef and David Weng ‘Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017: Review and recommendations’ LSJ Online, March 2022). The recommendations focused on scheme design, interpretation and revision of key performance indicators.
Following the review and recommendations, some of the much needed changes were introduced as part of the Motor Accident Injuries Amendment Act 2022 (‘2022 Amendment Act’), assented to on 28 November 2022. Some changes commenced on 28 November 2022, whereas others will commence on 1 April 2023. Most, but not all, of the changes are retrospective.
