Edition No.81

Welcome

Last week, I had the pleasure of addressing students and practitioners at the Personal Injury CPD Seminar in Newcastle, hosted by the Regional Law Society. Earlier this month, I also attended the Edge Seminar, hosted by the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law. You can find a link to my full speech here.

I would also like to draw your attention to the increasingly critical issue of cyber security. As we navigate an ever-evolving digital landscape, new threats continue to emerge as technology like artificial intelligence (AI) advances. Cyber criminals now have more tools than ever to exploit digital vulnerabilities, and this highlights the ongoing importance of robust cyber security measures. 

In this context, we remain steadfast in our commitment to staying ahead of these threats. If your legal practice or insurance firm should suffer the misfortune of a cyber breach, please notify the Commission as soon as practicable so we can work with you to keep the Commission’s data secure.

As you will read about later in this edition, along with the Direction I issued last month on the use of generative AI by decision makers, we are also rolling out a number of security enhancements to our digital platform, Pathway.

These steps are essential as we continue to navigate the intersection of law, technology and security in the modern era.

Regards,
Judge Gerard Phillips
President

Accessible venues across NSW

The Commission is actively expanding its network of fit-for-purpose venues for dispute resolution events across NSW. We currently have:

• 14 hearing rooms onsite at 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, with purpose-built audio-visual equipment to accommodate hybrid events
• seven fully furnished medical suites at 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, for conducting medical assessments
• virtual dispute resolution events held on Microsoft Teams for participants to join from anywhere in NSW
• all Members’ chambers equipped to serve as virtual hearing rooms
• regional hearings and events using Local Court facilities
• an additional venue in the Service NSW facility in Dubbo, with efforts underway to expand regional accessibility.

Accessible and well-equipped venues help the Commission meet its objective to resolve disputes justly, quickly, cost effectively and with as little formality as possible.

The Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 (the Act) considers that the Commission will be accessible and promote public confidence in the decision-making process and the conduct of its members. These key principles apply to how the Commission chooses venues for events and the choice of venue for a particular dispute resolution event should have regard to the objects of the Act.

Pathway updates

The Commission is committed to providing a seamless and secure digital experience for all users. As part of this, several enhancements to Pathway will be implemented to improve functionality and user experience.

LIVE NOW

Digital Hub launch

The Commission is excited to announce the launch of a brand-new way for raising digital support requests.

Starting from Monday, the PIC Digital Hub officially replaced the Commission email addresses that have been used to request digital support.

The new system will streamline support processes, enabling the Commission’s support team to respond more efficiently and effectively to user needs.

Users are encouraged to register for the PIC Digital Hub at their earliest convenience, as the masupport and wcsupport email addresses will soon be decommissioned, and the Hub will be the central point of contact for all digital support.

Register for the PIC Digital Hub

Email notification enhancements

In response to user feedback, improvements have been made to automate email notifications from Pathway to be clearer and more informative. These updates will ensure that recipients receive the necessary information in a more streamlined and efficient format. Changes include:

• appointment status in the subject line – adding the status of appointments (e.g., cancelled, rescheduled) to streamline communication and increase efficiency
• consolidated emails for back-to-back appointments – combining multiple appointment confirmation emails where possible to improve efficiency

additional information added for clarity - more information is now included in the subject line and body of automated email notifications, making it easier to identify key details.

COMING SOON

Security enhancements

Several key security enhancements will be implemented soon as part of our cyber strategy to strengthen the Pathway Portal and myPathway’s defences, while incorporating best practices to address an evolving cyber landscape. These include:

• multi-factor authentication (MFA) with an authenticator – users will soon be asked to use an authenticator app as part of the MFA process. This added layer of security will provide an extra safeguard for your account and strengthen Pathway’s overall security.
• compromised passwords – enhanced measures to detect and handle compromised passwords will be introduced. If a user’s password is found to be compromised in a known data breach, the user will be prompted to reset it to prevent unauthorised access.

User access management

The Commission is committed to upholding best practice cyber security measures to safeguard the sensitive data that it holds. As part of its cyber compliance program, an audit of Pathway Portal users will soon be conducted.

Next month, super users will receive an email with instructions on how to review the current Pathway Portal users in their organisation and deactivate users who no longer need Portal access because they have changed roles or left the organisation.

Proactively managing Pathway Portal access ensures that only authorised users have access to the sensitive data of the Commission and its claimants.

P01 ALAD and reply form enhancements

Based on feedback from our Pathway platform users, adjustments will be made to various fields in Form P01 Application to Lodge Additional Documents in the Pathway Portal. The enhancements have been designed to provide greater clarity about the circumstances under which a Form P01 is being lodged, while ensuring compliance with Rule 67.

Changes will also be made to reply forms that will allow users to provide reasons for late filing and submissions and address why the reply should be accepted.

Detailed updates regarding these changes will be shared with users shortly.

Authenticator is coming

If you haven’t already, download either the Microsoft or Google authenticator app from your app store now to prepare for this security enhancement.

Have a question about the Personal Injury Commission?

If you have a question you would like to ask about the Commission, please email us at [email protected]

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