Section 296 — Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Compensation Act 2001: Failure to reach agreement

296 Failure to reach agreement (1) If the insurer and the Corporation are unable to reach an agreement under section 295(1)(e) within 3 months of the subsequent injury being suffered, they must jointly engage a mediator in an endeavour to reach an agreement. (2) If the insurer and the Corporation are still unable to reach an agreement under section 295(1)(e) at the conclusion of the mediation, either party may apply to the District Court for a determination as to how the claimant's entitlements should be managed and paid for. (3) Any application to the District Court under this section must be made to the District Court specified in regulations for that purpose and must be made in the prescribed manner. (4) In determining an application under this section, the District Court must have regard to the purpose set out in section 294(2) and must make a determination about which party or parties is or are liable to provide or manage the claimant's entitlements in respect of both the previous injury and the subsequent injury, and in doing so must incorporate any matters that have already been agreed between the parties. (5) A determination of the District Court may allocate responsibility on a specified basis to either the insurer and the Corporation or to both, including in relation to entitlements that have already been provided and in relation to entitlements that are to be provided. (6) If satisfied that either the previous injury or the subsequent injury is, or was for a particular period, wholly or substantially causing the claimant's ongoing incapacity or the claimant's need for ongoing entitlements, the District Court may in its determination direct accordingly that the insurer or the Corporation must bear all of the responsibilities for entitlements from a specified time or for a specified period. (7) In making a determination under this section, the District Court must determine the matter according to the substantial merits of the situation, without regard to minor matters. (8) If the circumstances of the claimant change and the parties are unable to reach agreement about any changes to their responsibilities, either party may apply to the District Court by originating application for further directions in accordance with this section.