SIRA reviews legal support for injured people in NSW CTP insurance scheme

The State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) is reviewing the current legislative, regulatory, and service provision of legal support for injured people in the New South Wales (NSW) compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance scheme under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (Act).

SIRA will assess if the provision of legal support promotes the objects of the Act. It will also consider the feasibility of expanding the Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service (ILARS) into the CTP scheme, as well as the role and alignment of SIRA's Legal Advisory Service (LAS) to the suite of supports injured people can access in the scheme.

SIRA has proposed the following set of principles to underpin the review:

• Legal support frameworks should ensure that injured people can access the necessary benefits under the scheme to promote their recovery and return to work or other activities.
• Legal support should provide an incentive for the early resolution of claims and the quick, cost-effective and just resolution of disputes.
• Legal support should work with other mechanisms in the scheme to ensure its continued affordability for policyholders.
• Legal support should be proportional to the complexity of the issue in dispute.

“Legal representation plays an important part in ensuring that injured people have the necessary support to access their entitlements under the CTP scheme. SIRA has had feedback that the current legal costs structure could be improved to ensure injured people are able to access timely and affordable legal support in the scheme,” the regulator said in a statement.