9 March 2023
New Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment – Edition 3.0 under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 in effect from 1 April 2023.
The legislative instrument that provides for the current Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment – Edition 2.1 made under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) will sunset on 1 April 2023.
The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has approved a new legislative instrument that provides for the Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment – Edition 3.0 under the SRC Act (see: F2023L00203). Edition 3.0 of the Guide commences on 1 April 2023 and applies to permanent impairment and non-economic loss claims received on or after then. The new Guide has been remade with minor changes including:
- Updates to form and content to comply with modern drafting practices.
- Repealing part 2 of the Guide under the SRC Act (defence-related claims).
- Simplifying the rules about application of the Guide and clarifying the entitlement to compensation for permanent impairment that is a hearing loss or constituted by the loss, or the loss of the use, of a finger or toe, or the loss of the sense of taste or smell under the SRC Act.
- Improvements to the principles of assessment; including clarifying the methodology for pre-existing conditions and aggravations, new content to provide guidance on survival of claims, and new content to clarify use of clinical judgment and the assessment of pain conditions.
- Improvements to the bodily systems chapter; including revised approach for the assessment of lower limb arthroplasty procedures and the broader application for the assessment of chronic pain conditions.
Please see the Explanatory Statement
