Motor Accident Insurance and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill makes it a criminal offence to engage in 'claim farming' — the practice of cold-calling people after car accidents to pressure them into making insurance claims, then selling their details to lawyers for a fee. It strengthens the Motor Accident Insurance Commission's powers to investigate and prosecute claim farming by law firms and intermediaries, and requires additional claimant information to help detect fraudulent activity in the CTP insurance scheme.
Who it affects
Queenslanders who have been harassed by cold callers after car accidents will be protected by new criminal offences. Law firms handling CTP claims face new certification requirements and potential investigation. All Queensland motorists benefit from measures to keep CTP premiums affordable.
Key changes
- Makes it illegal to pay or receive fees for referring motor accident claimants, with penalties of up to 300 penalty units
- Bans cold-calling or contacting people to pressure them into making a CTP insurance claim
- Requires law firms to sign statutory declarations certifying they have not engaged in claim farming at multiple stages of the claims process
- Gives the Motor Accident Insurance Commission new powers to investigate law firms suspected of claim farming, including the ability to partially override legal professional privilege
- Requires claimants to provide Medicare numbers, identity documents and details of their first medical examination when lodging a claim
- Applies the 50/50 legal costs rule to all law practices handling speculative motor accident claims, not just those covered by the Legal Profession Act
Bill Journey
▸Committee14 June 2019View Hansard
Referred to Economics and Governance Committee
The Economics and Governance Committee examined the Motor Accident Insurance and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 over eight weeks, receiving 11 written submissions and holding a public briefing and public hearing with insurers, legal practitioners, and government representatives. The committee recommended the bill be passed, noting broad stakeholder support for tackling claim farming while acknowledging concerns from some legal stakeholders that the drafting may extend beyond its stated objective. The committee also identified several fundamental legislative principle issues, particularly around privacy, onus of proof, and the Commission's proposed investigative powers, and flagged a potential amendment to strengthen safeguards around criminal history information.
Key findings (5)
- Stakeholders broadly supported the bill's objective of stopping claim farming, with the Queensland Law Society, Insurance Council of Australia, and Bar Association of Queensland welcoming the reforms.
- Market research indicated that 37 per cent of Queenslanders had been contacted by a claim farmer in the past 12 months, with 90 per cent considering it a serious problem.
- Some legal stakeholders, including Shine Lawyers and the Australian Lawyers Alliance Queensland, raised concerns that the bill's drafting extended beyond its stated purpose and could have unintended consequences for legitimate law firm activities such as sponsorships and community partnerships.
- The committee identified fundamental legislative principle concerns regarding privacy (access to criminal history information without consent), reverse onus of proof provisions, and the breadth of proposed powers to enter premises.
- Queensland Treasury indicated it was amenable to amending the bill to require destruction of both criminal history reports and any written information derived from them, strengthening privacy safeguards.
Recommendations (1)
- The committee recommends the Motor Accident Insurance and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 be passed.
Committee report tabled
Assent date: 5 December 2019