Skip navigation
Personal Injury Commission - Logo
  • Home
  • Resources
  • Archive
  • Towards the PIC
  • Edition 5 - November 2020
Towards the PIC
  • Annual Review
  • Appeal Case Summaries
    • Appeal Case Summaries
      • Appeal Case Summaries 032021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 042021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 052021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 062021
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 072021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 082021
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 092021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 102021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 112021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 122021
      • Appeal Case Summaries 012022
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 032022
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 042022
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 052022
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 022022
      • Appeal Case Summaries - 062022
  • Delegations
    • Instrument of Delegation Judge Gerard Phillips 1 March 2021
    • Instrument of Delegation Rodney Parson Tables A and B
    • Instrument of Delegation Marie Johns
    • Instrument of Delegation Marianne Christmann
    • Instrument of Delegation Judge Gerard Phillips 15 April 2021
    • Instrument of Sub-Delegation dated 30 April 2021.pdf
    • Instrument of delegation dated 23 May 2021.pdf
    • Instrument of Delegation dated 25 August 2021
    • President Instrument of delegation to G Capel dated 21 January 2022
    • Division Head Instrument of delegation to G Capel dated 20 January 2022
    • President Instrument of delegation to J Bamber dated 24 January 2022.pdf
    • Division Head Instrument of delegation to J Bamber dated 24 January 2022.pdf
    • Instrument of Delegation - Division Head Workers Compensation Division 25.01.22.pdf
    • Instrument of Sub-Delegation - Division Head Workers Compensation Division 25.01.22.pdf
    • Instrument of Revocation - Principal Registrar 25.01.2022.pdf
    • Instrument of Sub-Delegation - Principal Registrar 25.01.2022.pdf
    • Instrument of Sub-Delegation - Director Legal and Policy 25.01.22.pdf
    • Table-A-PIC-delegations-PIC-Act-and-regulations-updated-17 February 2022.pdf
    • Table-B-PIC-delegations-Rules-Updated-17 February 2022.pdf
    • INSTRUMENT OF DELEGATION- 3 March 2022.pdf
    • Table-B-PIC-delegations-Rules-Updated-3 March 2022.pdf
  • Guidelines
    • Guidelines for Evaluation of Permanent Impairment for WCC
    • Guidelines for Evaluation of Permanent Impairment for CTP
  • Key Performance Indicators
  • Legal Bulletin
    • 2023 Legal Bulletins
    • 2022 Legal Bulletins
      • Legal Bulletin No. 92
      • Legal Bulletin No. 91
      • Legal Bulletin No. 88 - 25112022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 87 - 18112022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 86 - 11112022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 85 - 04112022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 84
      • Legal Bulletin No. 83 - 21102022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 82 - 14102022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 81 - 07102022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 80 - 30092022
      • Legal Bulletin No. 79
      • Legal Bulletin No. 78
      • Legal Bulletin No. 77
      • Legal Bulletin No. 76
      • Legal Bulletin No. 75
      • Legal Bulletin No. 74
      • Legal Bulletin No. 72
      • Legal Bulletin No. 71
      • Legal Bulletin No. 70
      • Legal Bulletin No. 69
      • Legal Bulletin No. 68
      • Legal Bulletin No. 67
      • Legal Bulletin No. 66
      • Legal Bulletin No. 65
      • Legal Bulletin No. 64
      • Legal Bulletin No. 63
      • Legal Bulletin No. 62
      • Legal Bulletin No. 61
      • Legal Bulletin No. 60
      • Legal Bulletin No. 59
      • Legal Bulletin No. 58
      • Legal Bulletin No. 57
      • Legal Bulletin No. 56
      • Legal Bulletin No. 55
      • Legal Bulletin No. 54
      • Legal Bulletin No. 53
      • Legal Bulletin No. 52
      • Legal Bulletin No. 51
      • Legal Bulletin No. 50
      • Legal Bulletin No. 49
      • Legal Bulletin No. 48
      • Legal Bulletin No. 47
      • Legal Bulletin No. 46
      • Legal Bulletin No. 44
      • Legal Bulletin No. 43
    • 2021 Legal Bulletins
      • Legal Bulletin No. 42
      • Legal Bulletin No. 41
      • Legal Bulletin No. 40 - 03122021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 39 - 26112021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 38
      • Legal Bulletin No. 37 - 12112021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 36 05112021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 35 29102021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 34 - 22102021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 33 - 15102021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 32 - 08.10.2021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 31
      • Legal Bulletin No. 30 - 24092021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 29 - 17092021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 28 - 10092021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 27 - 03092021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 26 - 270821
      • Legal Bulletin No. 25 - 200821
      • Legal Bulletin No. 24 - 13082021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 23 - 06082021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 22 - 300721
      • Legal Bulletin No. 21 - 23072021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 20 - 16072021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 19 - 09072021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 18 - 02072021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 17 - 25062021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 16 - 18062021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 15 - 11062021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 14 - 04062021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 13 - 28052021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 12 - 21052021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 11 - 14052021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 10 - 07052021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 9 - 30042021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 8 - 23042021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 7 - 16042021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 6 - 09042021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 5 - 01042021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 4 - 26032021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 3 - 19032021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 2 - 12032021
      • Legal Bulletin No. 1 - 05032021
  • Legislation
  • Papers and Presentations
    • PIC Seminar Workers Compensation February 2021
    • PIC Legal Seminar Motor Accidents 080221
    • PIC Insurer Seminar Motor Accidents 080221
    • Speeches by the President
      • Speech by the President to the NSW Bar Association Conference
      • Speech by the President to Sparke Helmore Lawyers
      • Speech delivered by the President to the Independent Review Office
      • Paper delivered for the NSW Bar Association, CPD facilitated by the Bar ADR Committee
    • Inaugural ceremonial sitting speeches
  • Personal Injury Commission News
    • 2022 Personal Injury Commission News
      • Edition No.41
      • Edition No.39
      • Edition No.38 - 14102022
      • Edition No.37
      • Edition No.36
      • Edition No.30
      • Edition No.29
      • Edition No.28
      • Edition No.27
      • Edition No.26
      • Edition No.25
      • Edition No.24
      • Edition No.23
      • Edition No.22
      • Edition No.21
    • 2021 Personal Injury Commission News
      • Medical Disputes Suitable for Paper Assessment September 2021
      • Edition No.20
      • Edition No.19
      • Edition No.18
      • Edition No.17 27102021
      • Edition No.16 - 19102021
      • Edition No.15
      • Edition No.14
      • Edition No.13
      • Edition No.12
      • Edition No.11
      • Edition No.10 - 22072021
      • Edition No.9
      • Edition No.8
      • Edition No.7
      • Edition No.6
      • Edition No.5
      • Edition No.4
      • Edition No.3
      • Edition No. 2
      • Edition No. 1
  • Policy
    • Access Charter
    • Access Principles
    • Audio Recordings and Transcripts
    • Compensation Court records
    • Complaints Policy
    • Interpreting Services
    • Media Policy
    • Mediator Code of Conduct
    • Medical Assessor Code of Conduct
    • Member Code of Conduct
    • Merit Reviewer Code of Conduct
    • Security at the Commission
  • Privacy
  • Procedural Directions
    • Procedural Direction PIC1 – Conduct of parties during proceedings
    • Procedural Direction PIC2 – Determination of matters ‘on the papers'
    • Procedural Direction PIC3 – Documents and late documents
    • Procedural Direction PIC4 – Expert Witness Evidence
    • Procedural Direction PIC5 – Schedule of Earnings
    • Procedural Direction PIC6 – Medical Assessments
    • Procedural Direction PIC7 – Appeals, reviews, reconsiderations and correction of obvious errors in medical disputes
    • Procedural Direction PIC9 – Production of Information and Calling of Witnesses
    • Procedural Direction PIC10 - Personal Injury Commission Hearings
    • Procedural Direction PIC11 – Medical Assessments Procedure – COVID-19
    • Procedural Direction WC1 – Compensation payable on death
    • Procedural Direction WC2 – Interim payment directions
    • Procedural Direction WC3 – Presidential appeals and questions of law
    • Procedural Direction WC4 – Work injury damages
    • Procedural Direction WC5 – Work Capacity Disputes
    • Procedural Direction WC6 – Workplace injury management disputes
    • Procedural Direction WC7 – Reconsiderations of decisions of the Commission
    • Procedural Direction MA1 – Stood over proceedings
    • Procedural Direction MA2 – Merit review
    • Procedural Direction MA3 – Approval of damages settlement
    • Procedural Direction MA4 – Appointed representatives
    • Procedural Direction MA5 – Matters unsuitable for assessment and mandatory exemptions
    • Procedural Direction MA6 – Review of a single merit review by a review panel
    • Procedural Direction MA7 – Claims disputes
  • Rules
    • Rule Committee Resolution
  • Archive
    • Motor Accidents Division
      • Motor accidents medical assessment service venue policy
      • Assessment of minor dental injuries fact sheet
      • Decision production guidelines for claims assessors
      • Motor accident electronic dispute management system online user protocol
    • Workers Compensation Division
      • Guidelines
      • Informational videos
      • Legal Bulletin
      • Legislation
      • News
      • On appeal
      • On review
      • Papers and presentations
      • Policy
      • Practice directions
      • Rules

Edition 5 - November 2020

Welcome

Welcome to the latest edition of Towards the PIC, a regular newsletter to update you on our progress towards commencement of the Personal Injury Commission (PIC) on 1 March 2021.

I would like to welcome our recent subscribers to the newsletter and note that we have broadened our distribution to include current users of the Workers Compensation Commission and Dispute Resolution Services portals.

This edition focuses on reference groups I am establishing for our stakeholders, speaking engagements I have been conducting for the legal profession and new frequently asked questions.

I look forward to providing further updates soon.

Sincerely,

Judge Gerard Phillips


Reference Groups Established for Ongoing Stakeholder Engagement

In establishing the PIC, I am committed to ensuring the positions and views of the professions and industries who will interact with the new tribunal are heard. To this end, I have recently convened several reference groups that will meet regularly to:

  • receive updates on the creation and implementation of the PIC
  • represent the views of their cohorts, professions and industries in discussions
  • participate, as representatives of their cohorts, in consultation regarding the draft Regulations and Rules that will govern how the PIC operates

I would like to thank the delegates confirmed for these groups for their willingness to participate in these important forums.

These groups and their membership are listed below for your reference.

PIC Stakeholder Reference Group

Name

Role

Judge Gerard Phillips

President, Personal Injury Commission

Ms Marianne Christmann

Principal Registrar, Personal Injury Commission

Mr Rodney Parsons

Division Head Workers Compensation Division, Personal Injury Commission

Ms Marie Johns

Division Head Motor Accidents Division, Personal Injury Commission

Ms Sheri Hayward

Unions NSW representative

Ms Megan Isley

Insurance Council of Australia representative

Mr Joshua Dale

Australian Lawyers Alliance representative

Ms Dawn Routledge

Department of Customer Service (DCS) representative

Mr Simon Geraghty

Department of Customer Service (DCS) ICT representative

Ms Helen Wall

NSW Bar Association representative

Mr Timothy Concannon

Law Society of NSW representative

Mr Stephen Harris

Law Society of NSW representative

Mr Leigh Davidson

Law Society of NSW representative

Ms Katherine Toshack

Law Society of NSW representative

TBC

SIRA representative

PIC Medical Assessors Reference Group

Name

Specialty

Dr Mark Burns

Occupational Medicine

Dr Michael Couch

Occupational Medicine

Dr Drew Dixon

Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr Neil Berry

Orthopaedic Surgery

A/Prof Michael Fearnside

Neurological Surgery

Dr John Garvey

General Surgery

Dr Peter Giblin

General Surgery

Dr Henley Harrison

ENT

Dr Julian Parmegiani

Psychiatry

Prof Nick Glozier

Psychiatry

Dr Brian Parsonage

Psychiatry

Prof Ian Cameron

Rehabilitation Medicine

PIC Mediator Reference Group

Name

Representing

Mr Philip Carr

Workers Compensation Mediators

Ms Geri Ettinger

Workers Compensation Mediators

Ms Nina Harding

Workers Compensation Mediators

Ms Bianca Keys

Workers Compensation Mediators

Mr John McGruther

Workers Compensation Mediators

Ms Philippa O’Dea

Workers Compensation Mediators

Ms Jennifer Scott

Workers Compensation Mediators

A Members Reference Group will be also be established later, when recruitment activities for PIC members are complete.


Speaking Engagements with the Legal Profession

I have had the opportunity over the past few months to provide updates about the PIC at several legal firms and profession events. These engagements have proved very fruitful and I have been impressed by the strong level of interest in the PIC demonstrated by the attendees.

I have attached the speech I delivered at the Legalwise Seminar on Friday 30 October 2020 here for your information.

I look forward to providing information about the PIC in further forums in the coming weeks.


New Frequently Asked Questions

I published a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions in Edition 2 of Towards the PIC .

Here are some additional questions and answers that have been raised during my recent speaking engagements for your reference.

How can the PIC and parties to disputes bring everyone on the digitisation journey?

The move to fully digital dispute management is mandatory and requires all parties to disputes – claimants, legal representatives, insurers, medical assessors and decision makers  – to play their part in educating those providing documentation to do so in digital format only. The PIC will support claimants and professions in this education process. Provision of hard copy documents will not be possible from PIC establishment, so the professions are encouraged to ensure adoption of the digital processes immediately.

How will regional claimants be supported to interact with the PIC digitally?

The PIC is working with Service NSW to develop options for claimants in regional areas to submit applications and participate in hearings. The PIC will sit in regional centres and it is anticipated that claimants in other regional areas will be able to participate in hearings from their homes, their lawyer’s office or Service NSW offices  via Audio-Visual Link. Further details will be provided when these arrangements are finalised. The PIC is also encouraging the professions to ensure they have internet connections of the appropriate quality to enable effective digital interactions.

Will decision making processes across the Workers Compensation and Motor Accidents divisions of the PIC be harmonised?

The establishment of the new tribunal provides an opportunity to harmonise processes wherever possible to ensure the best service experience for injured people. Utilising multidisciplinary panels, for instance, will ensure everyone brings the appropriate skillset, whether that be medical or legal, for the benefit of all parties . The structure of the PIC will allow it to not only deliver quality services from establishment, but also provides it with a sound foundation to grow and respond to future changes and demands.

How will the PIC support quality decision making for minor injury disputes?

One of the key aims of the PIC is to enhance the quality of decisions for both Workers Compensation and Motor Accident disputes. This is for all dispute categories, including minor injury. Several of the objects of the PIC legislation (Section 3) relate specifically to quality decision making:

(d) to ensure that the decisions of the Commission are timely, fair, consistent and of a high quality,

(e) to promote public confidence in the decision-making of the Commission and in the conduct of its members,

(f) to ensure that the Commission—

(i) publicises and disseminates information concerning its processes, and

(ii) establishes effective liaison and communication with interested parties concerning its processes and the role of the Commission,

(g) to make appropriate use of the knowledge and experience of members and other decision-makers.

These objects will be realised for all disputes through practices and procedures that ensure the appropriate decision makers are involved in the right forums for the various decision types, the ongoing provision of education and/or training for decision makers, the development of a decision making style guide that governs the form of how decisions are written and publication of decisions made for reference purposes.


Have a question about the PIC?

If you have a question you would like to ask about the PIC, please email us at PICstakeholder@wcc.nsw.gov.au


Missed earlier editions of Towards the PIC?

If you’re new to our distribution list for this newsletter, I’d encourage you to view the earlier editions. Access them here.


Subscribe to Towards the PIC here

If you have not received this newsletter directly from the PIC and you would like to subscribe to receive future editions, please subscribe here .

E-Mail Print