Edition No.74

Welcome

In this edition I can confirm that the rule 67 amendments to introduce a 500-page limit on supporting material for certain initiating applications and replies will commence on Monday 25 November 2024. This will align with our Phase 3 Pathway enhancements which will launch on the same day. 

I would like to thank the more than 300 of you who came along to our briefing session last week which provided a refresher on the rule amendments and how they will work in Pathway. You can find a link to a recording of the webinar below and we will soon publish FAQs on our website. We will also host a number of learning sessions next month to ensure tribunal users are prepared for the change.

I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the late Dr Geoff Stubbs, one of the Commission’s long-term medical assessors. Dr Stubbs will be greatly missed.

Finally, the Commission’s end-of-year shutdown arrangements are included for your information.

Regards, 

Judge Gerard Phillips
President

Counting down to the 500-page limit commencing on Monday 25 November 2024

The 500-page limit on supporting documents accompanying initiating applications and replies in certain dispute types will commence operation on Monday 25 November 2024. On that date, the amendments to rule 67, updates to Procedural Direction PIC 3 and the new Procedural Direction PIC 12 that support the limit will commence and the enhancements to the Pathway platform needed to administer it will be launched. These changes have been designed to make the process as easy as possible for all tribunal users.  

It is important that practitioners start to plan for this change. You can find the rule, procedural directions and other helpful material including a fact sheet, frequently asked questions and a video on our dedicated website page.

Further briefing sessions about the page limit and other Pathway Portal enhancements will be held later in November ahead of launch. Thank you to those of you who have already registered to attend a session. Invitation reminders will be issued to insurers and legal representatives who use the Pathway Portal this week.

Other Pathway Portal enhancements will launch on 25 November

In addition to the changes needed to the Pathway Portal to support the 500-page limit, the Commission is developing further enhancements to the Portal that will launch at the same time. These are focused on further harmonising processes across jurisdictions and adding certain form types that are currently only available offline into the Portal. 

Several new non-jurisdictional forms to be used for matters in both Divisions will be added to the Pathway Portal on 25 November. Some will replace existing motor accidents or workers compensation forms and others will be brand new, to be used instead of correspondence.

These are:

The following existing workers compensation forms that are currently only available offline will also be added into the Portal:

• Form 5A - Application to Register a Commutation Agreement
• Form 6B – Reply to Application to Resolve a Workplace Injury Management Dispute.

From 9.00am Monday 25 November, parties must use these new online forms that will be available in the Pathway Portal. If legacy forms are submitted or other methods of communication used, they will be rejected by the Commission Registry and the party will be asked to submit the correct form via the Pathway Portal.

The other main enhancement will be the addition of a new Submissions & Correspondence button for motor accidents matters that will be used for sharing correspondence documents with the Commission. Motor accidents users will no longer be able to attach documents via the Messages function and will use the new button instead.

These changes will be discussed, along with the 500-page limit changes, in the briefing sessions later this month.

Upcoming platform outage for all Pathway Portal users to facilitate the Pathway enhancements

To upgrade the Pathway platform to support the administration of the 500-page limit and implement the other enhancements, the Pathway Portal will be unavailable from 5.00pm Friday 22 November – 9.00am Monday 25 November inclusive.

Claimants, insurers, legal representatives and workers who use the Pathway Portal should ensure that you save any work in progress in the Portal before 5pm Friday 22 November.

President’s address: NSW Self Insurers

The President’s address at the recent 2024 Self Insurers Annual General Meeting included an overview on the establishment of the Commission’s new Police Officer Support Scheme Division, an update on the implementation of the 500-page limit, information on interlocutory appeals and a discussion on the case of Skates v Hills Industries Ltd [2021] NSWCA 142.

You can read the full speech here.

End-of-year shutdown

The Commission’s operations will completely close between Monday 23 December 2024 and Friday 3 January 2025 with operations to resume on Monday 6 January 2025. 

Key dates to note:

• The last official sitting day of the Commission is Friday 13 December 2024. However, matters may be listed by exception with Division Head approval during the week of 16 December 2024.
• The Commission’s offices will close at 4.30pm on Friday 20 December 2024.
• There will be no medical assessments or preliminary conferences conducted after Friday 20 December 2024.
• In the Workers Compensation Division, there will be no medical assessment certificates, certificates of determination, consent orders, mediation certificates and medical appeal panel certificates issued between Monday 23 December 2024 and Friday 3 January 2025.
• In the Motor Accidents Division, there will be no medical assessment certificates, medical review panel certificates and certificates/statements of reasons issued between Monday 23 December 2024 and Friday 3 January 2025.

Operations will recommence as follows:

• The Commission's offices will reopen at 8:30am on Monday 6 January 2025.
• Medical assessments will recommence on Monday 6 January 2025.
• Decisions and certificates will be issued from Monday 6 January 2025.
• Preliminary conferences, conciliation/arbitrations, assessment conferences and mediations will recommence on Monday 13 January 2025.

Thanks to the introduction of the Pathway Portal, parties will still be able to submit material via the portal during the shutdown including all applications, associated documents, and appeals. Pathway platform support will still be available during the shutdown.

Anything filed during the shutdown period that is time-sensitive, such as appeals, will be received by the Commission at the time it is entered into the system or the next working day in accordance with rule 26 of the Personal Injury Commission Rules 2021.

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