Legal service provider
NSW workers compensation help from Stephen Young Lawyers
NSW Work Injury Claim is the workers compensation service of Stephen Young Lawyers. Stephen Young Lawyers provides the legal service. Stephen Young Lawyers.
Stephen Young Lawyers was established in 2012. The firm is led by Stephen Young, Principal Solicitor and Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law.
Workers across New South Wales can arrange telephone or video appointments. In-person appointments can be arranged at the Sydney office when appropriate.
NSW Work Injury Claim enquiries: (02) 7233 3661
- Content publisher:
- NSW Work Injury Claim
- Published:
- Last legally reviewed:
Key legal sources
- Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW)
- SIRA workers compensation
- IRO legal assistance for injured workers
- Personal Injury Commission
This information is general in nature and is not legal advice. You should obtain advice about your own circumstances.
Claim overview
NSW workers compensation can involve weekly payments, medical treatment, rehabilitation, work capacity decisions, section 78 liability disputes and permanent impairment. The first step is to identify the exact insurer decision, relevant date, medical evidence and wage calculation issue before responding.
For the authoritative statewide legal-service overview, including section 66, work injury damages, psychological injury, hearing loss, IMEs and PIC proceedings, see the NSW workers compensation lawyers guide.
Payments
Check PIAWE, current capacity, suitable duties and any 130-week or 260-week issue.
Treatment
Separate clinical need, causation, insurer reasons, IME comments and approval deadlines.
Disputes
Match the notice to the correct review path before drafting evidence or submissions.
The work-causation test depends on the injury
Personal injury
For an injury other than a disease injury, section 9A generally requires employment to be a substantial contributing factor. The fact that symptoms arose at work does not, by itself, satisfy that test.
Disease or disease aggravation
For a disease contracted in employment, or an aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of disease, section 4 generally requires employment to be the main contributing factor.
Primary psychological injury from 1 July 2026
New primary psychological injuries first notified or claimed on or after 1 July 2026 generally require a defined relevant event or events, a real and direct connection with employment and employment as the main contributing factor. Relevant-conduct claims follow a different entry and dispute process. Transition and excluded-worker rules must be checked.
What workers compensation in NSW actually covers
If the statutory injury and causation requirements are met, the NSW scheme may provide weekly payments, medical and related treatment, rehabilitation support and, in some claims, permanent impairment compensation. Work injury damages are separate: they require employer negligence, economic loss and the applicable section 151H impairment threshold.
A rate dispute, treatment refusal, IME opinion and work-capacity decision may be decided under different provisions, but the same records can be relevant to more than one issue. Treatment and capacity evidence may affect weekly payments. An incorrect PIAWE calculation can affect the payment rate and later economic-loss evidence. A work-capacity decision may also become relevant to permanent impairment or damages issues.
Permanent impairment assessments changed on 1 July 2026
Most workers now generally have one principal assessment of permanent impairment for an injury or injuries arising from the same incident. Further assessment is allowed only in limited circumstances. The assessment can affect lump-sum compensation, weekly payments, medical expenses and work injury damages, so current SIRA requirements and independent legal advice should be checked before proceeding.
Read the permanent impairment assessment guide.
Common entitlements
- Weekly payments if you have time off work or reduced capacity
- Medical and treatment expenses including GP, specialists, physio, and related care
- Rehabilitation and support to return to work where appropriate
- Travel expenses for approved treatment in some situations
- Work injury damages in eligible negligence matters — see work injury damages guidance
- Death benefits for dependants in fatal injury or disease matters — see NSW death benefit claims guidance
Entitlements vary. Eligibility depends on your circumstances and the available medical and wage evidence.
Common problems we help with
- Weekly payments reduced, stopped, or incorrectly calculated (including PIAWE disputes)
- Treatment approvals refused or delayed
- Work capacity decisions and suitable-employment disputes
- Liability disputes and claim denials
- Back injury disputes including radiculopathy evidence — see back injury guidance and radiculopathy claim guide
- IME reports, permanent impairment evidence and insurer reasoning
Evidence differs between occupations
A nurse handling a patient, a construction worker near mobile plant, a warehouse picker using scanner data, and a delivery driver working across customer sites may need very different records even though the same NSW workers compensation law applies. Our occupation-specific workers compensation guides explain the task evidence, pay records and suitable-duty issues that commonly arise in each setting.
What usually goes wrong before workers realise they need help
The first payment rate is treated as fixed
Many workers accept the insurer's first PIAWE figure without checking overtime, allowances, roster penalties, or second-job income. Once an underpayment becomes the working baseline, the whole file can drift in the wrong direction. Start with the PIAWE calculation guide or the recalculation request page.
Treatment disputes are treated like admin delays
Delayed surgery, psychology, imaging, or specialist review does not just slow recovery. It often weakens the medical record the insurer later relies on to cut benefits or resist thresholds. Compare the treatment denied guide with the unfair IME report guide.
A capacity decision is answered too softly
Once the insurer says you can do suitable employment, the decision may affect weekly payments. A certificate that does not address the duties and functional limits may not answer the insurer's reasoning. Treating evidence should address the assumptions in the decision and the worker's ability to perform the proposed work. Read the work capacity disputes hub.
Permanent impairment is considered before the condition is ready for assessment
Workers often wait until a weekly-payment review before asking whether the injury is ready for a permanent impairment assessment or whether negligence damages should be investigated. Those are separate questions and should be checked against the current evidence. See the lump sum WPI service page and the work injury damages guide.
Common NSW workers compensation questions
Use this practical guidance first, then move to the linked page dealing with the actual insurer decision.
What can workers compensation cover in NSW?
Depending on your circumstances, workers compensation in NSW can include weekly payments, medical and treatment expenses, rehabilitation support, and in some claims lump sum compensation.
What if my weekly payments are reduced or stopped?
The decision may be disputed, but the available procedure depends on whether the issue is liability, work capacity, PIAWE or another payment provision. Keep the notice, record when it was received and check the applicable process promptly.
Can I dispute a work capacity decision in NSW?
Yes. A worker may dispute an insurer work capacity decision in the Personal Injury Commission. The notice, decision date, medical evidence and current procedure should be checked before taking a formal step.
Is it safe to wait after a section 78 notice or treatment refusal?
Do not assume every notice has the same deadline. Read the reasons and evidence, record the decision date and obtain advice about the applicable dispute procedure promptly. Delay can make medical and factual evidence harder to obtain.
What should I record after receiving an insurer notice?
Keep the notice and attachments, record the date received, and make a dated note of any related insurer call. Collect the certificates, wage records and treatment material relevant to the stated reasons, then check the applicable review or dispute procedure.
Does the same work-causation test apply to every injury?
No. A personal injury other than a disease injury generally uses the substantial-contributing-factor test in section 9A. A disease or disease aggravation generally requires employment to be the main contributing factor under section 4. New primary psychological injuries first notified or claimed on or after 1 July 2026 have additional relevant-event, connection and main-contributing-factor requirements, subject to transition and excluded-worker rules.
What to do after a workplace injury
- Get medical treatment and ask for a certificate of capacity where relevant.
- Report the injury to your employer as soon as possible, then follow the step-by-step NSW claim process.
- Keep a written timeline of events and save documents such as emails, certificates, wage records, and insurer letters.
- If you have not formally started your claim yet, use the make-a-claim checklist so you do not miss key evidence or deadlines.
- If an insurer decision appears incorrect, check the applicable review or dispute procedure promptly. Some time limits may apply, and relevant evidence can become harder to obtain with delay.
How to use the detailed entitlement guides
Once an insurer makes a specific decision, use the guide for that issue: weekly payments, treatment, work capacity, permanent impairment or damages. These provisions interact, but they do not share one threshold or remedy.
Weekly payment decisions
If the issue is the amount paid or whether payments are about to stop, go straight to the section 39 guide and the weekly payments stopped page.
Permanent impairment and damages
If the file may involve permanent impairment or work injury damages, compare the section 32A seriously injured worker guide, the lump sum WPI page, and the section 151H damages guide.
Need urgent help with a stopped-payment or denial issue?
If the insurer has already reduced your weekly payments, denied treatment, or issued a section 78 letter, move quickly. Early evidence often decides whether the dispute becomes harder to unwind later.
Related NSW workers compensation guides
Use these detailed pages for specific issues people commonly search for after a workplace injury.
- PIAWE calculation (how weekly payments should be calculated)
- PIAWE indexation (when and how payment rates change)
- Weekly payments stopped — what to do next
- Section 36 first 13 weeks (95% payment period and early underpayment checks)
- Section 37 weekly rate (80% vs 95% PIAWE after the first entitlement period)
- Section 38 after 130 weeks (when payments can be reduced)
- Section 39 at 260 weeks (payment cutoff planning)
- Post-130-week weekly payment eligibility guide
- Current work capacity dispute guide (evidence to challenge payment reductions)
- Section 32A seriously injured worker definition (more than 20% WPI)
- Section 66 lump sum compensation (physical and primary psychological thresholds)
- Requesting a PIAWE recalculation
- PIAWE recalculation request NSW (sample wording, evidence checklist, and escalation path)
- Disputing work capacity decisions
- Section 43 work capacity decisions (what insurers must consider before reducing payments)
- Work capacity decision dispute guide
- Suitable employment notices (challenge unrealistic duties)
- Section 78 notice disputes (liability ceased or reduced)
- Claim denied by insurer — dispute options in NSW
- Section 60 medical expenses NSW (what treatment the insurer must pay)
- Section 59A time limits on treatment expenses (how long medical cover continues)
- Work injury damages in NSW (common law negligence claims)
- Work injury damages WPI thresholds (section 151H and primary psychological injury changes)
- Death benefit claims in NSW (for families after fatal workplace incidents)
- Spinal fusion claims and WPI assessment (surgery is not an automatic rating)
- Amputation injury claims (permanent impairment and future care)
- CRPS claims (complex pain disputes and insurer challenges)
- Back and neck injury claims (disc injuries, radiculopathy, and WPI evidence)
- Psychological injury claims (current primary and secondary injury rules)
- Free claim check for NSW workers compensation disputes
Workers compensation help by location
We assist workers across NSW. Choose a location guide for contact options, appointment information and links to the claim issues discussed on this page.
- workers compensation guidance across Greater Sydney
- workers compensation assistance for Parramatta workers
- work injury claims in the Newcastle area
- claim and dispute guidance for Blacktown workers
Browse NSW workers compensation location guidesRead how IRO and ILARS funding is assessed
Related workers compensation pages
- NSW workers compensation lawyers: statewide guide
- IRO and ILARS funding: current eligibility guide
- Workers compensation services overview
- Weekly payments hub
- PIAWE calculation guide
- Weekly payments stopped guide
- Disputes hub
- Dispute work capacity decisions
- Treatment denied guide
- NSW workers compensation insurer directory
- PIC disputes process guide
- NSW claim process guide
- Start free claim check
Free claim check
If your payments were cut off, treatment denied, or you're unsure what you're entitled to, we'll help you understand your options.
ILARS funding may be available for eligible disputes where an approved lawyer obtains a grant. General information only.