Petition for the Immediate Increase in SIRA’s Gazetted Rates for Psychiatric and Orthopaedic Assessments - Sign Here

There are increasing problems within iCare/SIRA’s Workers Compensation scheme that seem to be getting worse each year. The problems this petition addresses are related to the lack of access that the industry has to Psychiatrists and Orthopaedic Surgeons, amongst other specialties. The supply and demand issue and restricted access exists because of the low current gazetted rates for assessments conducted in this space. Psychiatrists and Orthopaedic Surgeons are currently able to earn on average 33% more per hour in private or non-gazetted work. 

A recent Medico-Legal fee benchmarking analysis conducted by Taylor Fry for SIRA, examined the fee rates for IME examinations in comparable schemes. The report acknowledges that the fees remain lower than what medical specialists can earn in private practice. The acknowledged disparity between gazetted work and private practice work increases the difficulty in recruiting quality specialists to work within the personal injury space. VICWorksafe have acknowledged this disparity by increasing, and in some cases even tripling certain MedicoLegal fees. This has brought medicolegal fees into line with what psychiatrists and orthopaedic surgeon can expect to earn in their private practice.

We are witnessing an impact where older practitioners are leaving the sector, and new, younger doctors are not replacing them, as the financial incentives of private work far outweigh their gazetted work. 

The current lack of doctor availability is causing blowouts in the scheme through excessive waiting times. In some cases, claimants are forced to wait a year for their psychiatric/orthopaedic report which is costing the scheme $100,000’s per claim. 

For benchmarking purposes, the fees that Psychiatrists are receiving in the non-gazetted space are approximately $3,500 + GST, and $3,000 + GST for Orthopaedic surgeons. Matching these rates will better align with private practice remuneration and will attract more practitioners to the sector. An influx of practitioners to the sector will result in quicker claims, shorter waiting times and a reduction in liabilities in the scheme. This, in turn, will help control the costs of long tail claims, reduce the impact on premiums, and contribute significantly towards effective claims management and a sustainable sector.

By signing this petition you are supporting the AAMLP’s urgent request for gazetted rates to be substantially increased in the NSW Workers’ Compensation scheme. Thankyou for taking the time to read and sign this petition. Your comments and feedback are welcome.

Sincerely,

Mark Gibbins

President of the Australasian Association of Medicolegal Providers