The New South Wales State Insurance Inspectorate (SIRA) has amended Clause 175 of the Workers Compensation Ordinance 2016 and Article 4.64 of the Motor Vehicle Accident Guidelines to allow for a 12 month continuation of the regime that allows treating physiotherapists or psychologists to issue a second and subsequent one Certificates to an injured person if the injury relates to their area of expertise.
In the meantime, a doctor must continue to issue the first Certificate of Aptitude or Achievement to an injured person. The capacity certificate is used by insurers to inform decisions about the current work capacity and an employee’s right to compensation.
SIRA stated the changes support the New South Wales government’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The regulator also worked with two independent research organizations, the John Walsh Center for Rehabilitation Research (JWCRR) and the Australian Institute for Health Innovation (AIHI), to conduct a file review of the first 1,000 claims included in the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 system . Both institutes received 500 claims for analysis.
The institutes’ reviews are now complete and can be found on the SIRA website. They are reviewed periodically for two years, with a focus on injury management processes for insurers, minor injury thresholds for soft tissue and mental injuries, and ways to collect data to improve ongoing system monitoring.
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