The Independent Review Office has published the 2024/2025 Annual Report. The Annual Report describes our operational performance for the year, progress against the IRO 2023-25 Direction, and our priorities for the future.
This past year saw record demand for IRO services, with more than 17,000 enquires and complaints to our Solutions Group. This included over 10,000 workers compensation and Comprehensive Third Party (CTP) complaints and around 7,000 enquiries, representing a 13 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Importantly, 76 per cent of complainants supported by IRO achieved a positive resolution, demonstrating the IRO’s dedication to delivering meaningful outcomes.
Demand for the Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service (ILARS) also grew substantially during the year with more than 29,500 new applications for grants of funding received from Approved Lawyers representing people injured at work. This represented a 17 per cent increase on grant requests from 2023/24.
We continue to see trends across complaints and disputes relating to insurer’s delays in determining liability, delays in payments and poor case management experience. These remain the most common subject of complaints to IRO, accounting for 30 per cent of all complaints in 2024/25.
We have much work to do to improve outcomes for people in the community who have complaints about their insurers or need assistance with a dispute. We know that getting early solutions is critically important for anyone who has been injured at work or in a motor vehicle crash. Our focus in the coming year will be to improve the assistance we provide to the NSW community, taking a person-centered approach to managing complaints, and assisting people injured at work or in a motor vehicle accident to access legal representation when they need it.
The Independent Review Officer’s strategy for 2025-2030 will be released soon, reinforcing our commitment to supporting people who are injured at work or on our roads to get fair and fast resolution of disputes with their insurers.