On 1 April 2015, the Motor Accidents Compensation Regulation 2015 (the Regulation) came into effect. The key function of the Regulation is to regulate the maximum recoverable costs for legal and medico-legal services provided in relation to motor accident claims. The rationale for regulating the cost of these services is to ensure that transaction costs relating to motor accident claims do not unreasonably contribute to the cost of Green Slips payable by New South Wales motorists.
There are three issues to note regarding this regulation: an increase in the fees recoverable from the insurer; a requirement to provide costs information to the Motor Accidents Authority (MAA) as a condition of contracting out of the regulated fees (yet to commence); and a prohibition on the paying or accepting of any referral fees by legal practitioners in relation to a CTP claim.
