Edition No.25

Welcome

IT Provider Selected to Build the Commission’s New Case Management System

The Commission has selected IT provider SBC IT to develop and commence implementation of its new case management system during 2022. This is a major milestone in the ongoing program of work to establish a single digital platform that Commission staff, service providers and users will utilise to manage dispute cases end-to-end, from lodgement to resolution.

The establishment of a single IT platform for the Commission’s case management is not only a legislative requirement under the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020, but also a practical requirement that will enable all Commission users to engage with it in the same place, in the same way in the future. This will be a welcome and exciting development in how parties to disputes interact with us.

The single system will also enable economies of scale, reduced IT costs and improved monitoring and reporting of the case portfolios across and within both the Motor Accidents and Workers Compensation Divisions. It will allow the Commission to move away from operating the two, stand-alone dispute management systems it inherited when the former Workers Compensation Commission and Dispute Resolution Service were merged to create the new tribunal in March last year.

The selection of SBC IT as the vendor follows many months of work that involved reviewing the functions and performance of the legacy systems and extensive interviews with current users to gather feedback about their experience using them. The business requirements for a system that will serve both of the Commission’s Divisions efficiently and appropriately were also developed. The review, coupled with the feedback gathered, informed the Commission’s decision that neither of the legacy systems could be repurposed to meet the business needs of both Commission Divisions and that a new solution will be required.

SBC IT were selected following an extensive tender process. SBC IT are a trusted IT supplier with over 180 commercial and government clients across Australia and New Zealand. They are experts in dispute resolution systems and currently provide them to over 30 clients, including three courts and seven tribunals. They also have nine other system types currently in operation in the Department of Customer Service, including SIRA.

SBC IT will be well known to those who have operated in the workers compensation space as they were the provider for the former Workers Compensation Commission’s system that remains in use in the Workers Compensation Division today. Users familiar with this system will know how easy it is to use and that it is a very reliable solution.

The new system that SBC IT will build will be based on the existing Workers Compensation Division platform but will be a brand-new system with enhanced functionality and usability. It will be built to enable the smooth progression of disputes through the resolution process whether they be motor accidents or workers compensation matters.

The advantage of leveraging the existing Workers Compensation Division platform as a basis for the new system will be that Workers Compensation Division users will have a familiarity with the type of system and how to interact with it. This will help smooth their transition to using the new system when the time comes. A further benefit is that as the existing provider of IT services to the Workers Compensation Division now, SBC IT will also be able to support the existing Division platform until the new platform is ready.

Users of the current Motor Accidents Division system, who have experienced ongoing challenges since the system’s inception, will be prioritised to move onto the new platform first and can look forward to the benefits it will bring. I anticipate, based on our current indicative timeline, that Motor Accidents users will transition to the new platform in late 2022, with Workers Compensation users moving across in early 2023. Once both Divisions have been transitioned to the single platform, we will undertake some enhancements as the new system settles into operation.

SBC IT has been undertaking exploratory activities in recent weeks and will shortly begin the serious task of building the new system. We expect that this development work will take the majority of 2022. Until the build of the new platform is complete, the Commission will remain operating the two existing IT systems. With the new system on the horizon, we will not continue investing in changes or enhancements to the existing systems as we focus our energies and resources on the development of the new system.

The Commission has been engaging with the insurance industry, legal profession, service providers and Commission staff about the requirements for the new system to date and will continue working closely with the cohorts over the coming months as the new single system is developed. I am committed to ensuring that your views are heard and that you have an opportunity to input to and provide feedback on the various aspects of the system to ensure that it meets the usability needs of both the Commission and all who work with and engage with us.

I am excited that work on the new IT platform is now underway. Along with the renovation of our 1 Oxford Street premises, this constitutes a significant foundational step in our continued project of building out this new Commission.

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