Terms of Reference for the Statutory review of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017
Background
Section 11.13 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (the Act) requires the Minister for Customer Service to review the Act, the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation 2017 (the Regulation), and the Motor Accident Guidelines and other guidelines issued by SIRA under the Act (the Guidelines).
The purpose of the statutory review is to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act as set out in section 1.3 remain valid, and whether the terms of the Act, Regulation and Guidelines remain appropriate for securing those objectives.
The statutory review is required to start as soon as practicable after the period of three years from the commencement of the Act, with a report on the outcome of the review to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after that date. As the Act commenced on 1 December 2017, the report must be tabled in Parliament before 1 December 2021.
The Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 came into effect on 1 December 2017, introducing a new compulsory third party (CTP) insurance scheme (or Green Slips) in NSW.
The Regulation contains provisions that supplement the implementation and operation of the Act. The Guidelines are issued by SIRA under section 10.2 of the Act (among others) to support delivery of the objects of the Act and the Regulation. They establish processes and procedures and implement scheme objectives and compliance requirements.
Terms of Reference
As outlined in section 11.13(3) of the Act, to achieve its purpose the statutory review will consider all aspects of the scheme established by the Act, including:
- The effectiveness of the scheme in ensuring insurers are receiving a fair but not excessive profit margin,
- The general performance of insurers in the scheme,
- The timeliness of the provision of benefits to injured persons,
- The proportion of each dollar of premiums collected that directly benefits injured persons,
- Whether any changes are needed to the scheme.
The objectives of the Act are set out in section 1.3. These are to:
(a) encourage early and appropriate treatment and care to achieve optimum recovery of persons from injuries sustained in motor accidents and to maximise their return to work or other activities,
(b) provide early and ongoing financial support for persons injured in motor accidents,
(c) continue to make third-party bodily insurance compulsory for all owners of motor vehicles registered in New South Wales,
(d) keep premiums for third-party policies affordable by ensuring that profits achieved by insurers do not exceed the amount that is sufficient to underwrite the relevant risk and by limiting benefits payable for minor injuries,
(e) promote competition and innovation in the setting of premiums for third-party policies, and to provide the Authority with a role to ensure the sustainability and affordability of the compulsory third-party insurance scheme and fair market practices,
(f) deter fraud in connection with compulsory third-party insurance,
(g) encourage the early resolution of motor accident claims and the quick, cost effective and just resolution of disputes,
(h) ensure the collection and use of data to facilitate the effective management of the compulsory third-party insurance scheme.
Stakeholders and members of the public will be given an opportunity to contribute to the statutory review, which will be tabled in both houses of the NSW Parliament before 1 December 2021.