Link to report

On 3 November, the Public Accountability and Works Committee released its report following an inquiry into the proposed amendments to NSW’s workers compensation legislation.

The Committee has made 14 recommendations, including that:

• The proposed increases to permanent impairment thresholds for psychological injuries be withdrawn.
• The proposal to create a single impairment assessment scheme be withdrawn.
• The Bill be amended to exclude psychological injury claims caused by ‘reasonable management action’.
• There be a full review of claims management practices, with stakeholder input.
• Unions across all sectors be permitted to dispute return-to-work matters at the NSW Industrial Relations Commission.
• Financial modelling be developed to explore icare bringing claims services in-house.
• Insurer investigation and defence costs be capped at no more than 50% of a claim’s value.
• KPIs be established for insurers to provide psychological treatment within two weeks of a claim.
• SIRA to review why self-insurers and specialised insurers have better psychological injury return-to-work rates.
• Premium settings be reviewed to reward individual employer performance and safety, while preventing under-reporting.

The Inquiry’s final recommendation was that the first Bill be returned to the Legislative Council for further debate, taking into account the Inquiry’s evidence and findings.

The Legislative Council next sits on 11 November 2025, and we will continue to keep you updated as further developments occur.