Practical review
What to check in this situation
- Verify PIAWE and every included or excluded earnings component before applying a rate.
- Identify whether the worker has no current work capacity or some capacity and actual earnings.
- Track paid and payable weeks, WPI status and the notice used for any reduction or cessation.
Records that may help
Keep payslips, rosters, PIAWE decision, Certificates of Capacity, current-earnings records and payment statements.
Next procedural step
Use the insurer calculation and notice to identify whether the dispute concerns PIAWE, capacity, duration or liability.
IRO funding may be available
An IRO Approved Lawyer can assess whether a weekly payment or work capacity dispute may qualify for an ILARS grant. Funding is not automatic, and the IRO must approve the legal work and any disbursements under the current criteria.
Read the current IRO and ILARS funding guide before assuming costs will be covered.
Overview of Weekly Payments in NSW
Weekly payments replace part of the income lost because of a work-related injury. The amount depends on PIAWE, current earnings, work capacity, the statutory maximum and the payment period. From 1 July 2026, primary psychological injury claims have duration and threshold rules that differ from physical injury claims.
The starting point is usually your Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings (PIAWE). Employment history, unpaid leave, a permanent change in earnings, short-term employment and concurrent jobs can change the relevant earning period or calculation. Later payment formulas also use the statutory concept of current weekly earnings, which may differ from the amount actually earned in a particular week.
This overview addresses the general scheme. Exempt workers, coal miners, volunteers, dust-disease claims and some older injuries can be governed by different provisions and should be checked separately.
Common questions before you dive into the full guide
- Can the rate change after the first 13 paid or payable weeks? Yes. For many workers the statutory formula changes after the aggregate first entitlement period.
- Can payments stop after 130 weeks? Yes, but the applicable test now differs between physical injury and primary psychological injury claims.
- Can payments end at 260 weeks? Section 39 applies to injuries other than primary psychological injury and has a more-than-20% WPI exception.
- Is PIAWE the only issue? No. Work capacity decisions, treatment disputes, and threshold evidence often drive the outcome.
- How do I claim weekly payments? Report the injury, get a certificate of capacity, lodge the claim with the insurer, and keep wage records ready so PIAWE can be checked from the start.
If you are still at the start of the claim, use the workers compensation claim guide and the first-steps checklist before comparing weekly-payment rates.
How to claim weekly workers compensation payments in NSW
To claim weekly payments, report the injury, obtain a current certificate of capacity, lodge the workers compensation claim with the insurer, and give the insurer wage records so PIAWE can be calculated. If the insurer accepts the claim but uses the wrong earnings figure, the dispute is usually about calculation evidence, not whether the injury happened.
1. Start the claim file
Keep the injury report, claim form, certificate of capacity and insurer claim number together. These documents anchor the weekly-payment request.
2. Prove the wage base
Collect payslips, rosters, overtime, allowances, tax records and second-job income before the insurer finalises PIAWE.
3. Watch the decision notice
If payments are reduced, stopped or never started, identify whether the decision concerns liability, work capacity, current weekly earnings or PIAWE. A section 78 liability notice and a work capacity decision do not necessarily use the same review path.
For the broader claim process, read making a workers compensation claim in NSW and then use this page to check the weekly-payment calculation and dispute issues.
Practical checks for weekly payments
1. Check the rate, not just the insurer letter
Compare the insurer rate against your payslips, overtime pattern, allowances, and second-job earnings. If the starting number is wrong, every weekly payment after that can be wrong too.
2. Check the statutory transition points
The first 13 weeks, the following 117 weeks and the 260-week limit are aggregate paid or payable periods, not necessarily uninterrupted calendar periods. Check the insurer's payment ledger and the legal test that applies at each transition.
3. Read every section 78 notice and work-capacity letter closely
Read the stated reasons, effective date, notice period and evidence relied on. Check any medical opinion, suitable-employment assessment and earnings calculation against the underlying records rather than assuming every notice raises the same issue.
4. Do not wait for payments to hit zero before acting
A notice can have an effective date and a limited period in which an application may affect implementation. Obtain advice about the actual decision rather than waiting until the first reduced or missed payment.
Detailed Weekly Payment Guides
PIAWE Calculation
How your average weekly earnings are calculated and how to identify insurer mistakes.
View Full Guide →Payments Stopped or Reduced
Urgent steps to take when your income is cut off by a work capacity decision.
View Full Guide →Part-Time Return to Work
How hours, current earnings and assessed earning capacity affect the compensation top-up.
View Full Guide →Indexation Rules
How payments are adjusted over time to account for economic changes.
View Full Guide →Multiple Jobs & Earnings
Entitlements for workers with more than one employer at the time of injury.
View Full Guide →Recalculation Requests
How to formally request an audit of your pre-injury earnings rate.
View Full Guide →Cash Job and Workers Comp
Whether a cash-paid worker can still claim, how worker status is assessed, and how to prove PIAWE without complete payroll records.
View Full Guide →Psychological Symptoms and Work Capacity
How depression, anxiety, chronic pain, poor sleep and fear of re-injury can affect sustainable work capacity and weekly payments.
View Full Guide →Retirement Age and Weekly Payments
How section 52 applies when an injury occurs before or after Commonwealth Age Pension age.
View Full Guide →The Calculation: Understanding PIAWE
Your payment rate is not a guess; it is governed by Schedule 3 of the 1987 Act. PIAWE is generally based on gross earnings in the 52 weeks before injury, but the relevant earning period can be adjusted where employment started later, unpaid leave is excluded, a permanent material earnings change occurred or the pay-period alignment rules apply. Separate rules address employment lasting less than four weeks and concurrent jobs.
What is Included in the Average?
- ✓ Base Hourly Rate / Salary
- ✓ Overtime and shift allowance earnings
- ✓ Shift Allowances
- ✓ Commissions / Piece Rates
- ✓ Cash value of a qualifying non-monetary benefit only where the worker no longer has its use after injury
- ✓Multiple Employers' income
A calculation can be wrong if it omits overtime, allowances or earnings from a second job held at the injury date. If you had concurrent employment, review the dedicated multiple jobs and earnings guide to see what should be included.
Current weekly earnings is a separate statutory input used in the payment formulas. It is generally the greater of the worker's actual gross weekly earnings and the amount the worker is assessed as able to earn in suitable employment. A dispute about that assessed earning capacity is therefore different from a dispute about the original PIAWE figure.
How weekly-payment rules change over time
Sections 36 and 37 use different rates during the first 130 weeks. Continuation after 130 weeks depends on the injury type and the applicable statutory test; it is not simply another automatic percentage reduction. The first entitlement period is an aggregate 13 weeks and the second is an aggregate 117 weeks, whether or not the paid or payable weeks are consecutive.
Period 1: First 13 Weeks
If you have no current work capacity, section 36 generally uses 95% of PIAWE, subject to the maximum weekly compensation amount. If you have current work capacity, the formula is the lesser of 95% of PIAWE less current weekly earnings and the statutory maximum less current weekly earnings. For an early-stage checklist, read the section 36 first-13-weeks guide.
Period 2: Week 14 to Week 130
If you have no current work capacity, section 37 generally uses 80% of PIAWE, subject to the statutory maximum. A worker with current work capacity who has returned to work for at least 15 hours per week may use the 95% formula; a current-capacity worker who has returned for fewer than 15 hours, or has not returned, generally uses the 80% formula. Section 37 itself does not impose the indexed $251 earnings minimum. Current weekly earnings and the statutory maximum are applied as the section requires. Read the section 37 weekly-rate guide.
After 130 weeks: identify the injury type first
For injuries other than primary psychological injury, section 38 contains different continuation tests for workers with no current work capacity, workers with current work capacity, and workers who meet the Act's high-needs provisions. The result depends on the worker's capacity, hours, earnings and precise statutory category.
- No current work capacity: the insurer must assess that the worker has no current work capacity and is likely to continue indefinitely to have no current work capacity.
- Current work capacity, not high needs: the worker must make the approved-form written application no earlier than 52 weeks before the second entitlement period ends, have returned for at least 15 hours per week, meet the indexed earnings minimum and be assessed as indefinitely unable to increase earnings through further work.
- Current work capacity and high needs: the approved-form written application and timing rule apply, but section 38(3A) does not impose the ordinary 15-hour, indexed-earnings and further-work tests.
SIRA's July 2026 Benefits Guide records the current indexed minimum as $251 per week from 1 July 2026; because that amount is indexed, it should be checked again for a later decision date. For a primary psychological injury, sections 39A and 39B instead impose a 130-week cap with limited threshold-based exceptions from 1 July 2026. For a practical evidence guide at this stage, review the section 38 post-130-weeks guide.
Section 40 does not create post-130-week entitlement. It can preserve an existing section 38 entitlement where hours or current weekly earnings fluctuate only occasionally, during no more than four weeks in each consecutive 12-week period.
Section 41 concerns special compensation for incapacity caused by qualifying injury-related surgery. Among other requirements, the surgery must relate to the initial injury for which treatment liability was accepted, the worker must have received weekly payments and had current work capacity before the surgery-related incapacity, and must have returned for at least 15 hours with earnings meeting the indexed minimum. Payment is at the section 37 rate; it is excluded during the first 13 consecutive weeks after the second entitlement period, more than 13 weeks after surgery and while section 38 compensation is otherwise payable. Read the section 41 surgery-payment guide and the section 40 short-fluctuation guide.
Section 39 after 260 weeks: physical and other non-primary-psychological injuries
For an injury other than a primary psychological injury, section 39 generally ends weekly payments after 260 weeks unless the worker's permanent impairment resulting from the injury is more than 20% WPI. Section 39 does not govern primary psychological injury claims under the current post-1 July 2026 framework. Before your claim reaches that cutoff, review the section 39 260-week dispute timeline guide so you can prepare evidence early.
Common Reasons Payments are Disputed
Work Capacity Decisions
An insurer may assess an ability to earn in suitable employment even where the worker has not returned to that role. Depending on the statutory formula and assessed earning capacity, that decision may reduce or stop weekly payments. If this has happened to you, review the work capacity decision dispute guide for next-step options.
Calculation Errors
A PIAWE or indexation calculation can omit an earnings component or apply the wrong period or factor. Compare the decision with payroll records and the statutory calculation. Use the PIAWE indexation guide to check whether your insurer has applied annual increases correctly.
Issues to check when payments may be reduced or stopped
A weekly-payment dispute can concern the original PIAWE, current weekly earnings, work capacity, liability or a long-duration threshold. Identify the decision actually made before deciding what evidence or review path is relevant.
PIAWE is set too low at the start
An incorrect starting rate can affect later payments. Check overtime, shift loadings, allowances, commissions, qualifying non-monetary benefits and concurrent employment against the earning period used. Start with the PIAWE calculation guide and, if needed, use the recalculation request guide to identify the disputed input.
Treatment records and capacity evidence do not align
Delayed treatment or investigation can leave the current functional position incompletely documented. Compare certificates of capacity with treating reports, rehabilitation records and any outstanding scan, specialist or treatment request. The treatment denial guide and surgery denial guide explain how to identify the reason for the treatment decision and the evidence relevant to it.
An insurer medical opinion differs from treating evidence
A work capacity or treatment decision may rely on an insurer-arranged examination or file review. Compare the diagnosis, history, examination findings, restrictions and source documents with the treating evidence. If there is a material difference, use the guide to responding to an IME report to organise the points requiring a response.
Long-duration evidence is incomplete
Decisions after 130 or 260 aggregate weeks can turn on current capacity, hours and earnings, high-needs status, injury classification or permanent impairment. Review the lump sum WPI pathway and the Section 39 guide against the insurer's proposed end date and payment ledger.
Documents and evidence to gather before you dispute weekly payments
The documents depend on whether the issue is PIAWE, current earnings, work capacity, liability or a statutory duration limit. The following records help identify the calculation and evidence relied on.
Earnings material
- Payslips for the lead-up to injury
- Group certificates, PAYG summaries, or tax returns
- Rosters, overtime records, and shift details
- Evidence of commissions, allowances, or second-job income
- Bank statements if payroll records are incomplete
Capacity and dispute material
- Certificates of capacity and treating doctor letters
- Section 78 notices and insurer calculations
- Work capacity decisions and rehabilitation plans
- IME reports or file review opinions relied on by the insurer
- Any prior requests for review, recalculation, or treatment approval
If the issue also involves treatment delays, surgery refusals, or IME concerns, it helps to line up those records with the treatment denial guide, the surgery denial guide, and the IME response guide so the payment dispute is not reviewed in isolation.
Capacity evidence
When psychological symptoms affect weekly payments
A weekly payment decision may be incomplete if it considers only physical restrictions. Depression, anxiety, poor sleep, medication effects, fear of re-injury and pain-related fatigue may affect whether suitable employment is actually sustainable. The evidence should explain function: attendance, concentration, pace, reliability, social interaction and tolerance for duties.
How weekly-payments disputes are usually triaged
Rate dispute
Check whether the insurer has omitted earnings items, used the wrong statutory formula or failed to apply indexation. Start with the indexation guide and recalculation pathway.
Capacity dispute
Compare the stated suitable employment and assessed earning capacity with the medical restrictions, vocational material and work history. The work capacity dispute guide and section 78 notice guide are the main starting points.
Threshold dispute
After 130 or 260 aggregate weeks, the issue may involve ongoing capacity, current earnings, high-needs status, injury classification or WPI. Use the WPI pathway and the high-needs and highest-needs guide to plan evidence early.
Review options depend on the decision
For a work capacity decision, SIRA states that an insurer review is optional and a worker may apply directly to the Personal Injury Commission. If an optional insurer review is requested, the insurer must give a written response within 14 days. A PIC application made before the notice period expires may temporarily stay the work capacity decision. Liability, treatment and post-1 July 2026 PIAWE decisions are not all classified as work capacity decisions, so the notice and current procedure should be checked before filing.
Weekly payment questions
How are weekly workers compensation payments calculated in NSW?
Weekly payments are usually calculated using your Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings (PIAWE), based on your earnings before the injury including relevant overtime, allowances and second-job income.
What happens to weekly payments after 13 weeks and 130 weeks?
Sections 36 and 37 use different formulas for the first 13 aggregate weeks and the following 117 aggregate weeks. After 130 weeks, injuries other than primary psychological injury are generally considered under section 38, while primary psychological injury claims have separate sections 39A and 39B rules from 1 July 2026.
Can weekly payments stop at 260 weeks in NSW?
For an injury other than a primary psychological injury, section 39 generally ends weekly payments after 260 weeks unless the worker's permanent impairment resulting from the injury is more than 20%. Primary psychological injury has separate 130-week, additional-period and threshold rules from 1 July 2026.
What can I do if my insurer reduces or stops my weekly payments?
First identify whether the decision concerns liability, work capacity, current weekly earnings, PIAWE or another issue. Work capacity insurer review is optional and a worker may apply directly to the Personal Injury Commission, while other decision types can use different procedures.
What documents should I gather before disputing a weekly payments decision?
Gather payslips, group certificates, rosters, overtime records, tax returns, bank statements, certificates of capacity, section 78 notices, rehabilitation plans, and any insurer calculation letters. These documents help identify whether PIAWE, work capacity, hours worked, or threshold evidence has been handled incorrectly.
Do weekly payments include overtime, allowances, or income from a second job?
Under the current PIAWE framework, gross earnings include wages, shift, overtime and other allowances, commissions and piece rates. Average earnings from each job held at the injury date are calculated separately and added. Earlier and exempt-worker claims require their applicable rules to be checked.
What usually matters most after 130 weeks of weekly payments?
For physical injury claims, section 38 continuation tests focus on work capacity, actual hours and earnings, and statutory categories. Primary psychological injury claims have separate thresholds: 21–24% WPI may support a limited additional period if section 39B conditions are met, while 25% or more may continue subject to the applicable rules.
Can I get legal help for a weekly payments dispute without paying upfront?
IRO funding may cover approved legal professional fees and pre-approved disbursements for an eligible injured worker. An IRO Approved Lawyer must assess the dispute and apply for an ILARS grant; approval is not automatic.
Can depression, anxiety or chronic pain affect a weekly payment decision?
They may be relevant if the medical evidence shows those symptoms affect sustainable work capacity, attendance, concentration, reliability or suitable duties. The certificate and treating reports should explain the functional impact.
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.
- weekly payment help for workers in the Blacktown area
- work capacity and payment guidance for Liverpool workers
- weekly payment disputes affecting Newcastle workers
- workers compensation payment help for Wollongong
Browse NSW workers compensation location guidesRead how IRO and ILARS funding is assessed
Related weekly payments and dispute guides
- Weekly-payment and PIAWE questions
- NSW Workers Compensation Lawyers: Statewide Guide
- Current IRO and ILARS Funding Criteria
- Detailed Workers Compensation Claim Guide
- PIAWE Calculation Guide
- Request a PIAWE Recalculation
- Weekly Payments Stopped or Reduced
- Part-Time Work and Weekly-Payment Calculations
- Retirement Age and Weekly-Payment Limits
- Challenge a Work Capacity Decision
- Psychological Symptoms and Work Capacity
- Section 78 Notice Guide
- PIC Disputes Process Guide
- Section 39 260-Week Limit Guide
- Section 32A Seriously Injured Worker Guide
- NSW Workers Compensation Insurer Directory
- Free Claim Check
Request a weekly-payment claim check
General information only. This page does not replace advice on your specific facts, evidence, or deadlines.
Send the decision notice, current payment rate, payslips and certificate of capacity if available. We can review the issue raised and explain the next practical step. Legal assistance through ILARS may be available where the current funding criteria are met and the IRO approves a grant; it is not automatic.