New South Wales Consolidated Acts

DUST DISEASES TRIBUNAL ACT 1989 - SECT 32H

32H Regulations to promote claims resolution

(1) The Governor may make regulations for or with respect to the following:

(a) the establishment of a claims resolution process for claims, with procedures for identifying the issues in dispute between the parties to a claim and the settlement of claims by alternative dispute resolution processes,

(b) procedures and presumptions for the apportionment of liability between defendants and cross-defendants in connection with a claim,

(c) the making and acceptance of offers of compromise and the consequences by way of costs penalties and costs relief of the rejection of an offer by a party who fails to improve their position at hearing,

(d) identifying the issues that remain in dispute when a claim is not settled by the claims resolution process and limiting the determination of the claim in the Tribunal to a determination of those issues,

(e) subpoenas to give evidence or to produce any document or thing, including the issue and return of subpoenas and compliance with subpoenas,

(f) costs (including disbursements) payable by a party in or in relation to a claim,

(g) the practice and procedure to be followed in proceedings and any other matter for or with respect to which rules may be made under this Act,

(h) the exclusion of any proceedings or class of proceedings from the operation of any specified provision of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 or the rules made under that Act,

(i) the modification of any specified provision of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 or the rules made under that Act in its application to any proceedings or class of proceedings.

(2) Without limitation, this section authorises the making of regulations for or with respect to the following:

(a) the exchange of information between the parties to a claim,

(b) the compulsory mediation of claims and the functions, privileges, remuneration, immunities and protections of mediators and parties to mediation,

(c) procedures and presumptions for the apportionment of liability between defendants and cross-defendants (including by providing for the making of determinations as to apportionment and for the determination by the Minister of standard presumptions as to apportionment),

(d) the appointment of a single claims manager to be responsible for managing and otherwise dealing with a claim on behalf of all defendants and cross-defendants to the claim,

(e) determining the issues in dispute between the parties, and the facts and evidence that may be relied on by the parties, for the purpose of the determination by the Tribunal of a claim that has been through the claims resolution process,

(f) requiring the parties to a claim and their legal representatives to provide information about or relevant to the claim and any aspect of the claim (including costs and disbursements incurred in connection with a claim),

(g) the awarding of costs on a party and party basis, on an indemnity basis, or on any other basis, including costs penalties and costs relief in connection with a contravention of any provision of the regulations,

(h) the assessment of costs payable to an Australian legal practitioner in connection with a claim, including by providing for the modification of provisions of the Legal Profession Act 1987 or the Legal Profession Act 2004 with respect to the assessment of those costs,

(i) suspending the operation of any provision of rules of court and any direction or order of the Tribunal under a provision of this or any other Act or rules of court while a claim is subject to the claims resolution process or other procedures under the regulations or subsequently, pending its determination by the Tribunal.

(3) The regulations under this section prevail to the extent of any inconsistency between a provision of those regulations and a provision of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 , rules of court or any direction or order of the Tribunal made under a provision of this or any other Act or rules of court.

(4) The provisions of the Dust Diseases Tribunal Regulation 2001 inserted in that Regulation by the Dust Diseases Tribunal Amendment (Claims Resolution) Act 2005 are provisions that are authorised by and made under this section.

(5) Regulations under this section may apply to all claims or to a particular class or classes of claim.

(6) The regulations may provide that specified provisions of the regulations under this section are part of the procedural law of the State for the purposes of the determination of any claim.