Overview
How this affects your claim in practice
Most ordinary NSW workers generally have one principal permanent-impairment assessment for the injury or injuries arising from the same incident. A qualifying assessment or agreement relied on before 1 July 2026 can become the pre-reform principal assessment. During the interim period from 1 July 2026 to mid-2027, a compliant SIRA-registered assessment is treated as the principal assessment and independent legal advice is required before assessment.
A further assessment is not routinely available because a different doctor gives a higher estimate or symptoms continue. Current SIRA guidance requires worker and insurer agreement that there has been an unexpected and material deterioration: the deterioration was not reasonably expected at the earlier assessment and produces at least a further 10 percentage points of permanent impairment. Age-related deterioration does not qualify. Special and excluded worker categories need separate review.
- The interim process is temporary and is expected to be replaced from mid-2027.
- Separate worker and insurer examinations can still occur during the interim period.
- An interim assessment cannot be made before liability for the injury is determined.
- Independent legal advice is required before assessment and before an impairment agreement.
- The written agreement must identify the injury, degree, deductions, permanence, reports and affected entitlements.
- If no agreement is reached, the insurer must issue written notice before either party refers the medical dispute to PIC.
Practical review
What to check in this situation
- Identify whether an earlier report or agreement was already used to determine an entitlement and therefore became the pre-reform principal assessment.
- For an interim assessment, check accepted injuries, SIRA registration, maximum medical improvement and independent legal advice before attendance.
- A further request needs medical evidence of unexpected deterioration capable of at least a 10-point WPI increase and insurer agreement under the current rule.
Records that may help
Keep every impairment report and agreement, the entitlement for which it was used, liability decisions, treatment and deterioration chronology, current medical evidence and insurer response to any further-assessment request.
Next procedural step
Do not arrange competing assessments without advice. First identify the operative principal assessment and obtain advice on transitional status, injury scope and whether the limited deterioration test can be met.
Before accepting an appointment
- Ask whether the proposed appointment is an interim permanent impairment assessment.
- Confirm that liability has been determined for each injury intended to be assessed.
- Check the assessor against SIRA's current register and the relevant body-system accreditation.
- Obtain independent legal advice before the appointment is attended.
- Identify any surgery, treatment or recovery that may mean maximum medical improvement has not been reached.
Check the assessment scope
The referral should identify the accepted injury, injury date and every body system intended for assessment. A permanent impairment opinion cannot safely repair a referral that asks about the wrong injury or omits an accepted consequential physical condition.
Primary psychiatric impairment must remain separate from physical WPI, and secondary psychiatric impairment is not assessed for WPI. The worker should not assume that a symptom mentioned in a report has been included in the formal assessment scope.
Documents to place in one assessment file
- claim and liability decisions showing the accepted injuries;
- treating GP and specialist reports;
- imaging, pathology and operation records;
- evidence about maximum medical improvement;
- earlier impairment reports and pre-existing-condition records;
- a clear treatment chronology and any pending procedure;
- the material the insurer says it will provide to the assessor.
What to check after the report arrives
- Does the report assess the correct injuries and body systems?
- Does it identify the NSW method and required clinical findings?
- Are regional values converted and permitted values combined correctly?
- Does any section 323 deduction identify an actual contribution to impairment?
- Does the report explain whether impairment is permanent and fully ascertainable?
- Does the percentage align with the terms proposed for an impairment agreement?
Before signing an impairment agreement
Independent legal advice is required before an impairment agreement is entered. The written agreement should state the injury and date, agreed degree of impairment, any pre-existing deduction, hearing-loss details where relevant, permanence, whether the degree is fully ascertainable, the reports relied upon and the compensation entitlements for which it will be used.
The effect is broader than a lump sum. The principal assessment may be used for weekly payments, medical and related treatment expenses, Section 66 compensation, commutations and work injury damages.
If no agreement is reached
The insurer must give written notice that it will not enter an impairment agreement. Either party may then refer the degree of impairment to the Personal Injury Commission as a medical dispute. The party applying must provide medical evidence supporting its position.
Keep the notice date, impairment reports and material sent to the assessors together. A separate legal dispute about whether an injury is accepted may require a different pathway.
Transitional points that are easy to miss
- A pre-reform assessment already relied on for an entitlement generally becomes the principal assessment.
- A pre-reform assessment not yet used for Section 66 must generally be claimed before 1 July 2028.
- No new Section 66A complying agreements can be entered from 1 July 2026.
- A further assessment requires agreed unexpected and material deterioration capable of adding at least 10 percentage points.
- The general reform does not apply in the same way to exempt workers, coal miners, volunteers, dust disease claims or pre-2002 injuries.
Official sources
Sources are listed for transparency. This guide is general information only and is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is an interim assessment just another insurer IME?
No. An interim permanent impairment assessment is conducted by a SIRA-registered assessor and is taken to be the principal assessment for statutory entitlements.
Can the assessment happen before liability is decided?
No. SIRA states that an interim period assessment is not to be made where liability for the injury has not yet been determined.
Must I receive legal advice before the appointment?
Yes. During the interim period, independent legal advice is required before the worker is seen by a permanent impairment assessor.
What if treatment may still improve the condition?
The assessor must consider whether the impairment is permanent and fully ascertainable. If adequate treatment could materially change the impairment, assessment may need to be deferred.
Do I have to sign the insurer's proposed agreement?
An agreement should only be considered after independent legal advice and after checking the report, injury scope, deductions and effect on all relevant entitlements.
What happens if WPI is disputed?
After written notice that no agreement will be entered, either party may refer the medical disagreement to PIC with supporting medical evidence.
Received a permanent impairment assessment request?
Provide the appointment request, accepted injury documents and current medical reports so the assessment stage and required next step can be identified.