TAC Protocols

About the TAC Protocols

In 2005 the TAC Protocols were established by agreement between the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) and the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV).  The TAC Protocols were designed to provide an efficient, expeditious and transparent process to deliver appropriate benefits and compensation to people who sustain an injury as a consequence of a transport accident (claimants).

Over almost 20 years the TAC Protocols have improved benefit delivery to claimants and successfully mitigated legal costs, disputes and lengthy litigation.

In 2015 representatives from the TAC, ALA and LIV worked together to identify ways to enhance the operation of the TAC Protocols and further improve the efficient and effective delivery of outcomes for TAC claimants. In partnership, they developed joint commitments and success measures and endorsed the revised 2016 TAC Protocols.

All applications lodged with the TAC on or after 1 July 2016 are pursuant to the revised Protocols.

The 2016 Common Law Protocols introduced the new concept of a serious injury conference (chapter 11) as a two-year pilot. The serious injury conference pilot was subsequently reviewed in June 2018 and, based on its success, TAC, ALA and LIV agreed to include it as a permanent feature of the 2016 Common Law Protocols.

In 2020 the Common Law Protocols were further revised to identify earlier those clients with a clear serious injury and recognise their common law eligibility sooner. The Supplementary Common Law Protocols were agreed upon.

In 2022, the Common Law Time Limit Protocols were introduced to replace the waiver policy and to accommodate Serious Injury applications received outside the six-year limitation period.

In 2023, the Inclusion and Diversity: Shared Commitment was launched, describing a pledge to work together to create safer and more equitable workplaces.

The TAC Protocols now cover Impairment Assessment, Serious Injury, Joint Medical Examinations, Common Law, Common Law Time Limits, No Fault Dispute Resolution, Use of Authority to Release Information, and Inclusion and Diversity.

More information about all the TAC Protocols is below.

2016 Protocols

Supplementary Common Law Protocols

In 2020 we reflected on how the TAC Protocols have improved access to justice for our clients and delivered entitlements faster, by working efficiently with plaintiff solicitors.

As part of the TAC’s 2020 strategy, we had a goal of getting our clients’ lives back on track sooner. Nobody chooses to be in an accident and as a social insurer, the TAC is committed to supporting those impacted by road trauma.

Our approach to this has been to better understand the needs of our clients in order to better tailor our response to those needs. That is also at the core of our approach to delivering common law compensation.

The Supplementary Common Law Protocols help us identify people with serious injuries earlier and recognise their common law eligibility sooner.  They provide a process for the following scenarios which are not covered by the 2016 Common Law Protocols:

  • Proactive common law eligibility decisions;
  • A ‘fast track’ process for serious injury applications;
  • Partial common law settlements; and
  • Interim common law payments.

The Supplementary Common Law Protocols are to be read in conjunction with the 2016 Protocols. They do not replace the 2016 Protocols.

All applications lodged with the TAC on or after 1 January 2020 are pursuant to both the 2016 Protocols and the Supplementary Common Law Protocols.

Common Law Time Limit Protocols

The TAC is committed to accommodating reasonable requests to extend time, provided there is an explanation for the delay and there is reasonable cooperation with the TAC in providing information.

The Time Limit Protocols are intended to protect the interests of plaintiffs while also ensuring the timely and efficient progress of extension of time applications/serious injury/common law claims.

The Common Law Time Limit Protocols are to be read in conjunction with the Supplementary Common Law Protocols 2020 and the 2016 Protocols. They do not replace the 2020 or 2016 Protocols.

This Protocol applies to all applications lodged after 1 November 2022 for a serious injury certificate pursuant to the Common Law Protocols or Supplementary Common Law Protocols that are made out of time.

IMPORTANT
To apply, TAC must indemnify the defendant/s or be the defendant pursuant to Section 94(7) or Section 96 of the TAA.

Inclusion and Diversity: Shared Commitment

The Inclusion and Diversity: Shared Commitment is a pact endorsed by the TAC and the Australian Lawyers Association (ALA), and is currently under consideration by the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV), to work together to create safer and more equitable workplaces.

It follows the release of several reports that highlighted concerning behaviours in the sector, including discrimination and sexual harassment. This shared commitment is a pledge to do better. It incorporates the standards, guidelines, and contemporary expectations needed to rid our profession of poor practices and improve diversity and inclusion.

Through greater transparency and stepped-up reporting, it aims to give everyone who participates in the Protocols confidence that they will be given equal opportunities, fair treatment, and respect, regardless of age, gender, religion, heritage, sexual orientation or disability.

Forms

JME request form

JME reschedule form

JME Notice of Intention to Dispute form

Impairment application form

Serious injury application form

Dispute resolution application form

Supplementary common law protocols 2020

Common Law Time Limit protocols 2022

Common Law Protocols financial documents guide

If you are submitting a serious injury application involving an economic loss, it will assist the TAC and avoid delays if you include supporting financial documents in the application.  This guide lists the documents that will assist the TAC.

Impairment JME documents guide

This guide is a tool to help both the TAC and plaintiff solicitors to provide relevant and timely medical material to examiners.

It was developed in consultation with the Joint Medical Examination Reference Group and is to be used in a practical and flexible manner. Both parties have equal responsibility to ensure only necessary information is provided to examiners, to facilitate the completion of high-quality assessments in a timely manner.

Please provide all questions and material to the examiner at the earliest possible opportunity, but no later than 48 hours prior to the appointment date. This is to allow examiners sufficient time to review the medical material to adequately prepare for the examination and to avoid the possibility of the appointment needing to be rescheduled.

2016 Protocols Process Maps

Legal costs for all Protocol applications on or after 1 July 2016 (includes 1 July 2024 Indexation):

Counsel fees for Common Law Protocols 2013 - 2023 (includes fee increases effective 1 January 2023)

Senior Solicitor (Special Counsel) fees for Common Law and Supplementary Protocols

Information sessions

The TAC, ALA, and LIV are committed to supporting practitioners to understand the Protocols.

An information session was held on 13 December 2019 at which the TAC, ALA and LIV presented a summary of changes arising out of the Supplementary Common Law Protocols. This was also an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

A video of the presentation held at the Law Institute of Victoria is available below.

Supplementary Protocols information session

Information sessions

The TAC, ALA, and LIV are committed to supporting practitioners to understand the Protocols.

An information session was held on 13 December 2019 at which the TAC, ALA and LIV presented a summary of changes arising out of the Supplementary Common Law Protocols. This was also an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

A video of the presentation held at the Law Institute of Victoria is available below.

Protocols support

Sometimes a legal practitioner may consider the conduct of a TAC employee to be inconsistent with the TAC’s values. Please refer to this document for guidance on how to raise this with the TAC.

The following document provides avenues of resolution where parties may be unable to reach an agreement on Protocol costs and disbursements.

A dedicated email address has also been created by the LIV for Protocol enquiries: Protocol-enquiries@liv.asn.au

ALA and LIV members may refer issues and/or improvement opportunities to this address. All emails will be referred to the respective Committees for consideration and where appropriate, referred to the Protocol Forum or Legal Liaison Group.

Archive - 2005 Protocols

We have chosen to keep the information below on our website for archive purposes. This information may be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the history and evolution of the TAC Protocols.

Transition period, 2005 to 2016 Protocols

Applications lodged prior to 1 July 2016 will continue to be governed by the 2005 Protocols. However, in order to support the transition and avoid any potential delays for claimants, it was agreed that the TAC will pay the increased price points for all Protocols applications lodged on or after 29 February 2016.

All costs below reflect the CPI inflation index updated from 1 January 2016.

Transitional Legal costs were applicable to Protocols applications lodged for the period 29 February 2016 to 30 June 2016.

The impairment bypass and serious injury conference uplifts will not apply until the revised Protocols commence on 1 July 2016.

Protocols 2005

Please see below for information applicable to Protocols applications lodged prior to 1 July 2016.

Protocols 2005 Price points

Legal costs for all Protocol applications lodged before 29 February 2016:

About the TAC Protocols

In 2005 the TAC Protocols were established by agreement between the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) and the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV).  The TAC Protocols were designed to provide an efficient, expeditious and transparent process to deliver appropriate benefits and compensation to people who sustain an injury as a consequence of a transport accident (claimants).

Over almost 20 years the TAC Protocols have improved benefit delivery to claimants and successfully mitigated legal costs, disputes and lengthy litigation.

In 2015 representatives from the TAC, ALA and LIV worked together to identify ways to enhance the operation of the TAC Protocols and further improve the efficient and effective delivery of outcomes for TAC claimants. In partnership, they developed joint commitments and success measures and endorsed the revised 2016 TAC Protocols.

All applications lodged with the TAC on or after 1 July 2016 are pursuant to the revised Protocols.

The 2016 Common Law Protocols introduced the new concept of a serious injury conference (chapter 11) as a two-year pilot. The serious injury conference pilot was subsequently reviewed in June 2018 and, based on its success, TAC, ALA and LIV agreed to include it as a permanent feature of the 2016 Common Law Protocols.

In 2020 the Common Law Protocols were further revised to identify earlier those clients with a clear serious injury and recognise their common law eligibility sooner. The Supplementary Common Law Protocols were agreed upon.

In 2022, the Common Law Time Limit Protocols were introduced to replace the waiver policy and to accommodate Serious Injury applications received outside the six-year limitation period.

In 2023, the Inclusion and Diversity: Shared Commitment was launched, describing a pledge to work together to create safer and more equitable workplaces.

The TAC Protocols now cover Impairment Assessment, Serious Injury, Joint Medical Examinations, Common Law, Common Law Time Limits, No Fault Dispute Resolution, Use of Authority to Release Information, and Inclusion and Diversity.

More information about all the TAC Protocols is below.

2016 Protocols

Supplementary Common Law Protocols

In 2020 we reflected on how the TAC Protocols have improved access to justice for our clients and delivered entitlements faster, by working efficiently with plaintiff solicitors.

As part of the TAC’s 2020 strategy, we had a goal of getting our clients’ lives back on track sooner. Nobody chooses to be in an accident and as a social insurer, the TAC is committed to supporting those impacted by road trauma.

Our approach to this has been to better understand the needs of our clients in order to better tailor our response to those needs. That is also at the core of our approach to delivering common law compensation.

The Supplementary Common Law Protocols help us identify people with serious injuries earlier and recognise their common law eligibility sooner.  They provide a process for the following scenarios which are not covered by the 2016 Common Law Protocols:

  • Proactive common law eligibility decisions;
  • A ‘fast track’ process for serious injury applications;
  • Partial common law settlements; and
  • Interim common law payments.

The Supplementary Common Law Protocols are to be read in conjunction with the 2016 Protocols. They do not replace the 2016 Protocols.

All applications lodged with the TAC on or after 1 January 2020 are pursuant to both the 2016 Protocols and the Supplementary Common Law Protocols.

Common Law Time Limit Protocols

The TAC is committed to accommodating reasonable requests to extend time, provided there is an explanation for the delay and there is reasonable cooperation with the TAC in providing information.

The Time Limit Protocols are intended to protect the interests of plaintiffs while also ensuring the timely and efficient progress of extension of time applications/serious injury/common law claims.

The Common Law Time Limit Protocols are to be read in conjunction with the Supplementary Common Law Protocols 2020 and the 2016 Protocols. They do not replace the 2020 or 2016 Protocols.

This Protocol applies to all applications lodged after 1 November 2022 for a serious injury certificate pursuant to the Common Law Protocols or Supplementary Common Law Protocols that are made out of time.

IMPORTANT
To apply, TAC must indemnify the defendant/s or be the defendant pursuant to Section 94(7) or Section 96 of the TAA.

Inclusion and Diversity: Shared Commitment

The Inclusion and Diversity: Shared Commitment is a pact endorsed by the TAC and the Australian Lawyers Association (ALA), and is currently under consideration by the Law Institute of Victoria (LIV), to work together to create safer and more equitable workplaces.

It follows the release of several reports that highlighted concerning behaviours in the sector, including discrimination and sexual harassment. This shared commitment is a pledge to do better. It incorporates the standards, guidelines, and contemporary expectations needed to rid our profession of poor practices and improve diversity and inclusion.

Through greater transparency and stepped-up reporting, it aims to give everyone who participates in the Protocols confidence that they will be given equal opportunities, fair treatment, and respect, regardless of age, gender, religion, heritage, sexual orientation or disability.

Forms

JME request form

JME reschedule form

JME Notice of Intention to Dispute form

Impairment application form

Serious injury application form

Dispute resolution application form

Supplementary common law protocols 2020

Common Law Time Limit protocols 2022

Common Law Protocols financial documents guide

If you are submitting a serious injury application involving an economic loss, it will assist the TAC and avoid delays if you include supporting financial documents in the application.  This guide lists the documents that will assist the TAC.

Impairment JME documents guide

This guide is a tool to help both the TAC and plaintiff solicitors to provide relevant and timely medical material to examiners.

It was developed in consultation with the Joint Medical Examination Reference Group and is to be used in a practical and flexible manner. Both parties have equal responsibility to ensure only necessary information is provided to examiners, to facilitate the completion of high-quality assessments in a timely manner.

Please provide all questions and material to the examiner at the earliest possible opportunity, but no later than 48 hours prior to the appointment date. This is to allow examiners sufficient time to review the medical material to adequately prepare for the examination and to avoid the possibility of the appointment needing to be rescheduled.

2016 Protocols Process Maps

Legal costs for all Protocol applications on or after 1 July 2016 (includes 1 July 2024 Indexation):

Counsel fees for Common Law Protocols 2013 - 2023 (includes fee increases effective 1 January 2023)

Senior Solicitor (Special Counsel) fees for Common Law and Supplementary Protocols

Information sessions

The TAC, ALA, and LIV are committed to supporting practitioners to understand the Protocols.

An information session was held on 13 December 2019 at which the TAC, ALA and LIV presented a summary of changes arising out of the Supplementary Common Law Protocols. This was also an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

A video of the presentation held at the Law Institute of Victoria is available below.

Supplementary Protocols information session

Information sessions

The TAC, ALA, and LIV are committed to supporting practitioners to understand the Protocols.

An information session was held on 13 December 2019 at which the TAC, ALA and LIV presented a summary of changes arising out of the Supplementary Common Law Protocols. This was also an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

A video of the presentation held at the Law Institute of Victoria is available below.

Protocols support

Sometimes a legal practitioner may consider the conduct of a TAC employee to be inconsistent with the TAC’s values. Please refer to this document for guidance on how to raise this with the TAC.

The following document provides avenues of resolution where parties may be unable to reach an agreement on Protocol costs and disbursements.

A dedicated email address has also been created by the LIV for Protocol enquiries: Protocol-enquiries@liv.asn.au

ALA and LIV members may refer issues and/or improvement opportunities to this address. All emails will be referred to the respective Committees for consideration and where appropriate, referred to the Protocol Forum or Legal Liaison Group.

Archive - 2005 Protocols

We have chosen to keep the information below on our website for archive purposes. This information may be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the history and evolution of the TAC Protocols.

Transition period, 2005 to 2016 Protocols

Applications lodged prior to 1 July 2016 will continue to be governed by the 2005 Protocols. However, in order to support the transition and avoid any potential delays for claimants, it was agreed that the TAC will pay the increased price points for all Protocols applications lodged on or after 29 February 2016.

All costs below reflect the CPI inflation index updated from 1 January 2016.

Transitional Legal costs were applicable to Protocols applications lodged for the period 29 February 2016 to 30 June 2016.

The impairment bypass and serious injury conference uplifts will not apply until the revised Protocols commence on 1 July 2016.

Protocols 2005

Please see below for information applicable to Protocols applications lodged prior to 1 July 2016.

Protocols 2005 Price points

Legal costs for all Protocol applications lodged before 29 February 2016: