Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales v Mills

The Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against decisions of Coorey DCJ concerning the assessment of a claimant's permanent injury under the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* (NSW). The dispute centred on the scope of a referral to a medical assessor for the purpose of determining damages for non-economic loss.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the interpretation of section 62(1) of the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* and the overall scheme for medical assessment under the Act, particularly in relation to whether a referral to a medical assessor could be confined solely to the assessment of the degree of permanent impairment, excluding the question of causation. The court was required to determine if the District Court judge had erred in limiting the scope of the referral to the medical assessor.

The Court of Appeal held that the Act, as it stood prior to the 2007 amendments, did not permit a referral to a medical assessor to be limited in the manner ordered by the District Court judge. Giles and Tobias JJA, with Handley AJA agreeing, reasoned that the scheme of the Act contemplated that a medical assessor would determine both the existence of an injury and its causation by the accident, as well as the degree of permanent impairment. Therefore, the District Court judge was not entitled to make a finding on causation binding on the parties while simultaneously referring only the extent of impairment to the medical assessor.

The Court of Appeal accordingly quashed the District Court judge's decisions that sought to limit the referral to the medical assessor to the extent of impairment and dismissed the application to vary those orders. The Motor Accidents Authority was ordered to pay the claimant's costs, with a certificate under the Suitor's Fund Act. Liberty was granted to the second respondent to apply for costs within seven days.