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 Queenslanders after car accidents and pressuring them to make CTP insurance claims, then selling their details to lawyers for a fee. It also strengthens the Motor Accident Insurance Commission's powers to investigate law practices involved in claim farming.
Who it affects
Queenslanders who have been in motor vehicle accidents are protected from harassing cold calls. Law practices handling CTP claims face new certification requirements and potential investigation. All motorists benefit from measures to keep CTP premiums affordable.
Key changes
- New criminal offence for paying or receiving fees for referring CTP claimants, with a maximum penalty of 300 penalty units
- New criminal offence for cold-calling or contacting people to pressure them into making a CTP claim, with a maximum penalty of 300 penalty units
- Law practices must complete certificates at multiple stages of a claim confirming they have not engaged in claim farming
- The Motor Accident Insurance Commission gains modern investigation powers and can now investigate law practices, not just insurers
- Claimants must provide additional identity information including Medicare numbers and photo ID to help detect fraud
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
Referenced Entities
Legislation
Organisations
Programs & Schemes
Sectors Affected
Classified using AGIFT/ANZSIC Australian government standards