Law Council Success for 'Injured'
1 October 2001 at 1:10 pm
The Law Council of Australia has welcomed the announcement by the Commonwealth Government that tax law will be amended to facilitate the use of “structured settlements” for people who receive damages for an injury.
A structured settlement is one in which a damages award consists of a lump sum and periodic payments, rather than simply a lump sum as is currently standard in common law actions for damages for personal injury.
Presently, if payments were to be made periodically, then they may be subject to income tax. Under the changes that have been announced, it will be beyond doubt that periodic payments are free from income tax. The change will treat periodic payments similarly to lump sum payments.
The Law Council has been involved in this issue as a member of the Structured Settlements Group (“SSG”), an umbrella organisation of bodies, which has worked co-operatively to promote the acceptance of structured settlements.
The Law Council has been involved as a member of the SSG for several years.
Law Council President, Ms Anne Trimmer says its motivation in supporting this change is to better serve the interests of the community in caring for those who suffer catastrophic injury.
