New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MOTOR ACCIDENT INJURIES ACT 2017 - SECT 3.19

3.19 Notice required before discontinuing or reducing weekly payments

(1) If an injured person has received weekly payments of statutory benefits under this Division for a continuous period of at least 4 weeks, the insurer must not discontinue payment, or reduce the amount, of the statutory benefits without first giving the person not less than the required period of notice of intention to discontinue payment of the statutory benefits or to reduce the amount of the statutory benefits.

: Maximum penalty--50 penalty units.

(2) The
"required period of notice" for the purposes of this section is--

(a) when the discontinuation or reduction is during the first entitlement period--2 weeks, or

(b) when the discontinuation or reduction is during the second entitlement period--4 weeks, or

(c) when the discontinuation or reduction is after the second entitlement period--8 weeks.

(3) If the payment of statutory benefits to an injured person is discontinued, or the amount of statutory benefits is reduced, by an insurer in circumstances involving the commission by the insurer of an offence under subsection (1), the injured person may, whether or not the insurer has been prosecuted for the offence, recover from the insurer an amount of statutory benefits that--

(a) if no period of notice has been given--is equal to the amount of statutory benefits, or additional statutory benefits, that would have been payable during the required period of notice if payment of the statutory benefits had not been discontinued or if the amount of statutory benefits had not been reduced, or

(b) if less than the required period of notice has been given--is equal to the amount of statutory benefits that would have been payable during the balance of the required period of notice if payment of the statutory benefits had not been discontinued or if the amount of the statutory benefits had not been reduced.

(4) This section applies to any discontinuation or reduction of the amount of a payment because the injured person ceases to be entitled to the payment or to the amount of the payment under a provision of this Division.

(5) This section does not apply to a reduction in weekly payments of statutory benefits as a result only of an injured person's return to any employment or commencement of employment or of any change in an injured person's earnings from any employment.

(6) This section does not apply to a reduction in weekly payments of statutory benefits as a result only of the application of different rates of statutory benefits after the expiration of earlier periods for which higher rates were payable.

(7) This section does not apply to the suspension of weekly payments of statutory benefits by or under a provision of this Act.

(8) This section does not affect the operation of section 3.20 (Refund of weekly payments paid after return to employment).