Division 3 Provisions relating to claims assessors
98 Motor Accidents Claims Assessment and Resolution Service
(1) The Authority is to establish in association with its operations a unit, to be known as the Motor Accidents Claims Assessment and Resolution Service.(2) The Service is to consist of claims assessors and such other officers of the Authority as the Authority determines.
99 Appointment of claims assessors
(1) The Authority may appoint as a claims assessor any person who, in the opinion of the Authority, is suitably qualified to be a claims assessor. Such a person may be a member of staff of the Authority.(2) A claims assessor has the functions that are conferred on the claims assessor by or under this Act.(3) The Authority may remove a claims assessor from office at any time.(4) A claims assessor is entitled to be paid the remuneration (including travelling and subsistence allowances) that the Authority may from time to time determine in respect of the claims assessor.
(1) The Minister is to appoint a person who is an Australian lawyer as Principal Claims Assessor.(2) The Principal Claims Assessor has and may exercise all the functions of a claims assessor under this Act.(2A) The Principal Claims Assessor is, in the exercise of his or her functions, subject to the general direction and control of the Chief Executive Officer. However, the provisions of section 105 (2)–(5) apply to the Principal Claims Assessor in the same way as they apply to a claims assessor.(3) The Principal Claims Assessor can delegate to any claims assessor any of the Principal Claims Assessor’s functions under this Act, except this power of delegation.(4) Schedule 3 has effect.
100 Power of claims assessor to require information
(1) A claims assessor may give a direction in writing to a party to an assessment under this Part requiring the party:(a) to produce to the assessor, at a time and place specified in the direction, specified documents in the possession of the party, being documents that the assessor considers relevant to the assessment of the claim concerned, or(b) to furnish specified information to the assessor within a time specified in the direction, being information that the assessor considers relevant to the assessment of the claim concerned, or(c) to give within a time specified in the direction any specified consent, authority or direction that the assessor considers necessary or desirable for the purpose of facilitating the provision by another person of documents or information pursuant to a direction under subsection (1A).(1A) A claims assessor may give a direction in writing to a person who is not a party to an assessment under this Part requiring the person:(a) to produce to the assessor, at a time and place specified in the direction, specified documents in the possession of the person, being documents that the assessor considers relevant to the assessment of the claim concerned, or(b) to furnish specified information to the assessor within a time specified in the direction, being information that the assessor considers relevant to the assessment of the claim concerned.(1B) The Authority must pay the reasonable costs incurred by a person in complying with a direction under subsection (1A).(2) A person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given to the person under this section is guilty of an offence.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.
(3) If a party to an assessment fails without reasonable excuse to produce a document or furnish information in compliance with a direction given to the person under this section, the person cannot as a party to proceedings before a court have the document or information admitted in the proceedings unless the court otherwise orders in the special circumstances of the case.(4) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to any of the following matters:(a) exempting specified kinds of documents or information from the operation of this section,(b) specifying cases and circumstances in which a claims assessor is required to exercise the assessor’s powers under this section.
101 Power of claims assessor to provide documents and information to a party
(1) When documents or information are produced or furnished to a claims assessor by a party to an assessment (whether or not pursuant to a requirement under this Act), the assessor may produce or furnish the documents or information to any other party to the assessment.(1A) When documents or information are produced or furnished to a claims assessor by a person who is not a party to an assessment (pursuant to a direction under section 100 (1A)), the assessor may produce or furnish the documents or information to any party to the assessment.(2) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to any of the following matters:(a) exempting specified kinds of documents or information from the operation of this section,(b) specifying cases and circumstances in which a claims assessor is required to exercise the assessor’s powers under subsection (1),(c) specifying circumstances in which documents or information produced or furnished to a claims assessor may not be produced or furnished by the assessor to a party to the assessment.
102 Summons to appear at assessment conference
(1) The Principal Claims Assessor may issue a summons requiring the attendance of a party to an assessment at an assessment conference (as referred to in section 104) on the assessment of a claim if the Principal Claims Assessor is satisfied that the party has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a request by a claims assessor to attend an assessment conference on the assessment.(2) A person must not fail without reasonable excuse to comply with a summons served on the person under this section.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.
103 Protection of claims assessors
(1) A matter or thing done or omitted to be done by a claims assessor in the exercise of the assessor’s functions does not, if the matter or thing was done or omitted in good faith, subject the assessor personally to any action, liability, claim or demand.(1A) However, any such liability attaches to the Crown.(2) A claims assessor is, in any legal proceedings, competent but not compellable to give evidence or produce documents in respect of any matter in which he or she was involved in the course of the exercise of his or her functions as a claims assessor.
104 Proceedings before claims assessors
(1) In this section:assessment conference means any conference or other proceeding held with or before a claims assessor in connection with an assessment of a claim, and includes any such proceedings at which the parties (or some of them) participate by telephone, closed-circuit television or other means.
(2) A person who is a party to an assessment under this Part is entitled to be represented by an Australian legal practitioner or by an agent. The claims assessor may however refuse to permit a party to be represented by an agent if of the opinion that the agent does not have sufficient authority to make binding decisions on behalf of the party.(3) A party to an assessment at an assessment conference is entitled to such representation or assistance (for example, the assistance of an interpreter) as may be necessary to enable the party to communicate adequately at the assessment conference.(4) A claims assessor must take into account any written submission prepared by an Australian legal practitioner acting for a party to the assessment and submitted by or on behalf of the party (whether or not the party is represented by an Australian legal practitioner at an assessment conference on the assessment of the claim).(5) A claims assessor may, subject to any general directions of the Principal Claims Assessor, hold an assessment conference with all relevant parties in attendance and with relevant experts in attendance, or a separate assessment conference in private with any of them.(6) If the claims assessor is satisfied that sufficient information has been supplied to him or her in connection with an assessment, the assessor may exercise functions under this Act without holding any assessment conference or other formal hearing.(7) In proceedings before a court with respect to a claim (other than proceedings under Part 4.6), evidence of a statement made during an assessment conference is not admissible unless the person who made the statement agrees to the evidence being admitted.Note. See also section 115 with respect to disclosure of result of assessment.
105 Control and direction of claims assessors
(1) A claims assessor is, in the exercise of his or her functions, subject to the general control and direction of the Principal Claims Assessor.(2) However, a claims assessor is not, in his or her capacity as a claims assessor, subject to control and direction by the Principal Claims Assessor, the Authority, any member of staff of any Division of the Government Service or any other person with regard to any of the decisions of the assessor that affect the interests of the parties to an assessment.(3) The Principal Claims Assessor, the Authority, any member of staff of any Division of the Government Service or any other person cannot overrule or interfere with any decision of a claims assessor who is a member of staff that affects the interests of the parties to an assessment in respect of any such assessment.(4) This section does not prevent the making of arrangements for the training of claims assessors, and does not prevent claims assessors from obtaining advice, to ensure consistently correct application of the provisions of this Act and the regulations and of other relevant matters.(5) This section does not affect the exercise of the functions of the Chief Executive Officer under the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 with respect to claims assessors who are members of staff of the Authority.
106 MAA monitoring and oversight
(1) Claims assessments under this Part are subject to relevant provisions of MAA Claims Assessment Guidelines relating to those assessments.(2) The Authority may make arrangements for the provision of training and information to claims assessors to promote accurate and consistent claim assessments under this Part.