New Permanent Impairment Guide in effect from 1 April 2023

The legislative instrument that provides for the current Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment – Edition 2.1 made under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) will sunset on 1 April 2023.

The Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations has approved a new legislative instrument that provides for the Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent Impairment – Edition 3.0 under the SRC Act (see: F2023L00203). Edition 3.0 of the Guide commences on 1 April 2023 and applies to permanent impairment and non-economic loss claims received on or after then. The new Guide has been remade with minor changes including:

• Updates to form and content to comply with modern drafting practices.
• Repealing part 2 of the Guide under the SRC Act (defence-related claims).
• Simplifying the rules about application of the Guide and clarifying the entitlement to compensation for permanent impairment that is a hearing loss or constituted by the loss, or the loss of the use, of a finger or toe, or the loss of the sense of taste or smell under the SRC Act.
• Improvements to the principles of assessment; including clarifying the methodology for pre-existing conditions and aggravations, new content to provide guidance on survival of claims, and new content to clarify use of clinical judgment and the assessment of pain conditions.
• Improvements to the bodily systems chapter; including revised approach for the assessment of lower limb arthroplasty procedures and the broader application for the assessment of chronic pain conditions.

Please see the Explanatory Statement accompanying the Guide for further information.