A medical assessor under Part 3.4 of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW) is not required to determine whether an incident constitutes a 'motor accident' within the meaning of s 3 of the Act. That is a liability question for a court or claims assessor. The line of authority from Mills establishes only that medical assessors have exclusive and conclusive jurisdiction over questions of permanent impairment and causation from an identified motor accident, not over the anterior question of what constitutes a motor accident. Where an incident involves both motor vehicle use and other conduct (such as physical assault), the liability question of what constitutes the 'motor accident' should be resolved before referral for medical assessment.
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