New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT 1987 - SECT 65A

65A Special provisions for psychological and psychiatric injury

(1) No compensation is payable under this Division (either as permanent impairment compensation or pain and suffering compensation) in respect of permanent impairment that results from a secondary psychological injury.

Note: This does not prevent a secondary psychological injury from being compensated under section 67 as pain and suffering resulting from permanent impairment (but only if that permanent impairment results from a physical injury or a primary psychological injury).

(2) In assessing the degree of permanent impairment that results from a physical injury or primary psychological injury, no regard is to be had to any impairment or symptoms resulting from a secondary psychological injury.

(3) No compensation is payable under this Division (either as permanent impairment compensation or pain and suffering compensation) in respect of permanent impairment that results from a primary psychological injury unless the degree of permanent impairment resulting from the primary psychological injury is at least 15%.

Note: If more than one psychological injury arises out of the same incident, section 322 of the 1998 Act requires the injuries to be assessed together as one injury to determine the degree of permanent impairment.

(4) If a worker receives a primary psychological injury and a physical injury, arising out of the same incident, the worker is only entitled to receive compensation under this Division in respect of impairment resulting from one of those injuries, and for that purpose the following provisions apply:

(a) the degree of permanent impairment that results from the primary psychological injury is to be assessed separately from the degree of permanent impairment that results from the physical injury (despite section 65 (2)),

(b) the worker is entitled to receive compensation under this Division for impairment resulting from whichever injury results in the greater amount of compensation being payable to the worker under this Division (and is not entitled to receive compensation under this Division for impairment resulting from the other injury),

(c) the question of which injury results in the greater amount of compensation is, in default of agreement, to be determined by the Commission.

Note: If there is more than one physical injury those injuries will still be assessed together as one injury under section 322 of the 1998 Act, but separately from any psychological injury. Similarly, if there is more than one psychological injury those psychological injures will be assessed together as one injury, but separately from any physical injury.

(5) In this section:
"primary psychological injury" means a psychological injury that is not a secondary psychological injury.
"psychological injury" includes psychiatric injury.
"secondary psychological injury" means a psychological injury to the extent that it arises as a consequence of, or secondary to, a physical injury.