If you are injured at work in NSW, you can generally claim weekly payments while you cannot work, the cost of reasonable and necessary medical treatment, and — for more serious injuries — a lump sum for permanent impairment. Strict time limits apply, and the rules changed significantly on 1 July 2026, especially for psychological injuries. In most cases, getting a lawyer costs an injured worker nothing, because the Independent Review Office (a NSW Government body) funds workers compensation legal help through ILARS.
Frisina Lawyers is a family-run firm that has acted for injured people since 1980, with offices in Liverpool and Gregory Hills. Anthony Frisina has been an Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law (Law Society of NSW) since 1998.
An accepted NSW workers compensation claim covers three main things: weekly payments to replace lost income while you have no capacity, or reduced capacity, for work; reasonable and necessary medical, hospital and rehabilitation treatment; and, where the injury leaves you with permanent impairment above a threshold, a one-off lump sum. Where your employer's negligence caused a serious injury, you may also be able to sue for work injury damages on top of the statutory scheme.
Medical cover is broad: treatment, hospital, ambulance, workplace rehabilitation, artificial aids, damage to clothing, and travel to appointments. The 2025–26 reforms changed the legal test from "reasonably necessary" to "reasonable and necessary" treatment. Medical cover is time-limited by your level of whole person impairment (WPI — a percentage rating of your permanent impairment): it ends 2 years after weekly payments stop (or 2 years after the claim, if you never received weekly payments) if your WPI is 10% or less, 5 years for 11–20%, and is lifetime if your WPI is more than 20%. Different, shorter limits apply to psychological injury claims made from 1 July 2026 — see below. Some items — such as artificial aids, hearing aids, home and vehicle modifications and secondary surgery — are exempt from those cut-offs.
Separately from workers compensation, many injured workers also hold TPD insurance through their superannuation — see TPD and superannuation claims. If your work injury happened in a motor vehicle accident, a CTP motor accident claim may also arise.
Tell your employer as soon as possible, see a doctor and get a Certificate of Capacity, and make sure your claim is made within six months of the injury. Your employer must notify its insurer within 48 hours, the insurer must contact you in writing within 7 days, and payments can start before liability is even decided — so there is no reason to wait.
Step by step:
Under provisional liability, the insurer must start provisional weekly payments within 7 days of notification unless it has a reasonable excuse — up to 12 weeks of weekly payments and a capped amount of medical treatment while liability is worked out. Starting these payments is not an admission of liability.
The six-month rule: under s 261 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998, a claim must generally be made within 6 months of the injury. A late claim is not automatically barred if the delay was due to ignorance, mistake, absence from the State or another reasonable cause — but a claim made more than 3 years after the injury generally cannot be accepted without SIRA's approval, except in cases of death or serious and permanent impairment. If you are out of time, get advice rather than assuming the worst.
Weekly payments are based on your pre-injury average weekly earnings (PIAWE). For the first 13 weeks you receive 95% of PIAWE (less anything you earn if you have some capacity for work); from week 14 to week 130 you generally receive 80%, or up to 95% less your current earnings if you have returned to work at least 15 hours a week. All payments are subject to a maximum weekly amount set by the scheme and indexed each year.
Overtime and shift allowances count towards PIAWE for the first 52 weeks only. After 130 weeks, payments continue only if you have no current work capacity, or you have returned to work at least 15 hours a week earning at least a minimum weekly amount set by the scheme — and you must apply to the insurer in writing. After 260 weeks (five years), weekly payments stop altogether unless your permanent impairment is more than 20% WPI. Workers with highest needs (more than 30% WPI) are entitled to a minimum weekly payment under the scheme. Payments generally run no later than Commonwealth retirement pension age; a worker injured at or after that age can receive up to 12 months of payments.
If your injury leaves you with lasting impairment, you may claim a one-off lump sum under s 66 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. Physical injuries need more than 10% WPI (that is, 11% or higher); a primary psychological injury needs at least 15% WPI. The amounts are set by a statutory scale that rises with the WPI percentage and is indexed each year.
The scale that applies depends on your injury date. A back impairment attracts an extra 5% on the back component. There is no separate pain-and-suffering lump sum for claims made on or after 19 June 2012, and exempt workers (such as police, paramedics, firefighters and coal miners) remain on older tables.
One assessment only: from 1 July 2026, each worker gets a single "principal assessment" of WPI, which is then used for every entitlement — weekly payments, medical cover, the lump sum and work injury damages. A further assessment is only allowed for an unexpected and material deterioration of at least another 10 percentage points. Because you generally only get one assessment, its timing and preparation matter — get advice before you are assessed.
It depends entirely on when your injury was notified or claimed. Psychological injury claims made before 1 July 2026 stay under the old rules, including the 15% WPI threshold for work injury damages. Claims made on or after 1 July 2026 face a new eligibility test and a 130-week cap on weekly payments unless your WPI reaches at least 21%.
Claims made before 1 July 2026: the pre-reform rules continue to apply. Where weekly payments have stopped, icare has indicated they can be reinstated from the date a later assessment shows the 21% WPI threshold is met.
Claims made on or after 1 July 2026:
Because the applicable rules are fixed by when the injury is notified or claimed, anyone already suffering a work-related psychological injury should notify it and get advice promptly.
Work injury damages is a common law claim available when your employer's negligence caused the injury and your WPI is at least 15% (for physical injuries; psychological injuries claimed from 1 July 2026 need at least 25%, rising for later claims). It compensates economic loss only — past and future lost earnings plus superannuation, at your actual earnings without the weekly cap — and must be commenced within three years of the injury.
There are no damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses or care, and settling ends your ongoing workers compensation — weekly payments and medical cover stop, and weekly compensation already paid is brought to account. The process runs: WPI assessment (from 1 July 2026, the single principal assessment also fixes eligibility), exchange of pre-filing statements, then mandatory mediation at the Personal Injury Commission — where most matters resolve — before any court case. Court leave is needed to start after the 3-year limit in s 151D, and delay makes that harder. This is a significant, one-way decision, so get advice before committing.
Usually not. The Independent Review Office (IRO) funds legal help for injured workers through the Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service (ILARS): it grants funding to IRO Approved Lawyers to advise and act for workers at no cost to the worker, whatever the outcome, and also pays disbursements such as medico-legal reports. Challenging an insurer's decision generally costs you nothing.
ILARS funding covers the disputes that matter — decisions declining liability, work capacity decisions, WPI disputes and s 66 lump sum claims — with the lawyer paid by IRO when the funded matter concludes. Under the reforms, your lawyer must also certify that a dispute has reasonable prospects before it goes to the Commission. The IRO additionally handles complaints about insurer conduct (phone 13 94 76). One caveat: work injury damages court proceedings sit outside the statutory scheme, and an unsuccessful court claimant can face costs orders — we explain exactly how funding applies before you commit to anything. For other claim types, such as public liability, we explain how our fees work at your first consultation.
Two limits matter most: make your workers compensation claim within six months of the injury, and start any work injury damages court claim within three years. Notify your employer as soon as possible after the injury. Late claims can sometimes still proceed, but every month of delay makes things harder — so act early.
Payments can start quickly: the insurer must contact you within 7 days of notification and can begin provisional weekly payments within 7 days, covering up to 12 weeks of wages and a capped amount of treatment while liability is decided. How long the overall claim runs depends on what is in dispute — an accepted claim simply continues, while WPI assessments, lump sum claims and work injury damages take longer. We give you a realistic timeframe once we know your situation.
Making a claim does not end your employment, and there are legal protections around dismissing a worker because of a work injury — but they are not unlimited, and the detail matters. Do not resign or accept a termination before getting advice.
You will need a doctor to complete your Certificate of Capacity, which drives your weekly payments and treatment.
The rules above changed on 1 July 2026, and the right move depends on your claim date, your WPI and your work capacity. Frisina Lawyers has acted for injured people since 1980, and your first consultation is obligation-free — and workers compensation legal costs are usually ILARS-funded at no cost to the worker. Call (02) 9602 4999, email lawyers@frisina.com.au, or contact us online. Meet us at Liverpool or Gregory Hills, or read more about the firm and our team.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Time limits apply to compensation claims — please get advice about your own situation.