The Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW), as it stood prior to the 2006 amendments, does not apply to a progressive injury claim — that is, an injury arising gradually from a series of incidents rather than at a fixed point of time. A subsequent amending Act that purports to clarify the meaning of an earlier Act may be taken into account in interpreting the earlier Act, even where the amendments do not apply retrospectively to the facts in issue. A pleading that alleges separate assaults at fixed points of time, without asserting that the injuries resulted from the progressive or cumulative effect of those assaults, does not adequately disclose a progressive injury claim.
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