Tools: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 00:19, 6 October 2026

When I asked my solicitor how loss of income is calculated the closest answer to explanation was "it is complicated". From what I learned later is that it is simple and straight forward. These tools are based on my experience.

While we put our best effort to ensure that calculation is correct we are not specialist in this area, so please have it checked by specialist before using calculators results in your matter.

Calculators (examples):

Income loss calculator : example , calculation
Interest calculator: Example , calculation
Personal injury calculator: calculation example
Legal fees calculator Example, calculation
Statement of Claim Calculator: see example in the section below

User restricted:

Income loss calculator

Income loss calculator estimates past and future loss of income after a motor vehicle injury.

The calculator uses the personal injury date to select the applicable NSW motor-accident scheme:

Injuries before 1 December 2017 use the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999.
Injuries on or after 1 December 2017 use the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017.

The result is an estimate only. It does not determine the amount that a court, insurer or Personal Injury Commission will ultimately award.

Information entered into the calculator

Field	Description	How it is used
Personal injury date	The date of the accident or injury.	Automatically selects the applicable legal regime.
Income before personal injury	Income earned before the injury.	Converted to a weekly amount.
Income after personal injury	Current or expected income after the injury.	Converted to a weekly amount and deducted from the pre-injury income.
Income period	Weekly, monthly or yearly.	Monthly income is converted using `income × 12 ÷ 52`. Yearly income is converted using `income ÷ 52`.
Calculation date	The date separating past loss from projected future loss.	If empty, today's date is used.
End date	Recovery date or retirement date.	Determines how long the future loss is projected.
Recovery date	The date income loss is expected to end.	If empty, the calculation continues to today's date.
Birth date and retirement age	Used when the retirement option is selected.	The retirement date is calculated from the birth date and selected retirement age.
Retirement date	A specific expected retirement date.	Used directly as the end date for future loss.

Calculation method

The basic weekly loss is calculated as:

Weekly loss = adjusted income before injury - income after injury

The calculator does not allow a negative weekly loss. If post-injury income is higher than pre-injury income, the weekly loss is treated as zero.

The final result is calculated as:

Total = past income loss + future income loss + estimated superannuation

The calculator currently adds an estimated 9% superannuation amount to the calculated income loss.

Pre-1 December 2017 calculation

For accidents before 1 December 2017:

Income is treated on a net income basis.
The calculator uses a weekly pre-injury income cap of $4,512.
Past loss is calculated as weekly loss multiplied by the number of past weeks.
Future loss is projected to the selected end date.
Future loss is discounted at 5% per year.
An estimated 9% superannuation amount is added.

The $4,512 cap and 5% discount rate are the values currently implemented in the calculator. The applicable statutory amount should be verified for the particular accident date and claim.

On or after 1 December 2017 calculation

For accidents on or after 1 December 2017:

Income is treated on a gross income basis.
Past loss is calculated as weekly loss multiplied by the number of past weeks.
Future weeks 1–13 use 95% of the weekly loss.
Future weeks 14 and later use 80% of the weekly loss in this calculator.
An estimated 9% superannuation amount is added.

The 95% first-period rate is based on section 3.6 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017. The calculator uses a simplified projection for later future weeks and should not be treated as a complete assessment of statutory benefits or damages.

Important limitations

The calculator does not automatically account for:

contributory negligence;
changes in earning capacity;
promotions, unemployment or career changes;
tax adjustments;
statutory benefit limits and payment periods;
Medicare or Centrelink recoveries;
partial impairment;
vicissitudes or contingencies;
medical evidence; or
legal costs.

The calculation should be checked against the applicable legislation, regulations, guidelines and evidence for the particular claim.

Official sources

Interest calculator

Interest calculator estimates pre-judgment and post-judgment interest for a selected amount and date range.

The calculator applies simple interest separately to each NSW interest-rate period:

Interest = Amount × annual interest rate × number of days ÷ 365

Days are counted inclusively. Interest is not compounded.

Interest types

Pre-judgment interest applies to the period before judgment.
Post-judgment interest applies to the period after judgment.
The court may apply a different rate or decide that interest should not be awarded.

Source of the rates

The rate periods used by the calculator were taken from the project's interest-rate workbook and are stored in the calculator code in the INTEREST_RATE_PERIODS table.

The rates are checked against the official NSW court information:

For the period from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2026, the rates are:

Pre-judgment: 8.35%
Post-judgment: 10.35%

Interest-rate table used by the calculator

Period	Pre-judgment rate	Post-judgment rate
1972-07-01 to 1973-12-31	5.00%	5.00%
1974-01-01 to 1980-12-31	10.00%	10.00%
1981-01-01 to 1981-06-30	13.50%	13.50%
1981-07-01 to 1982-06-30	14.50%	14.50%
1982-07-01 to 1983-12-31	15.50%	15.50%
1984-01-01 to 1985-12-31	14.50%	14.50%
1986-01-01 to 1986-06-30	18.25%	18.25%
1986-07-01 to 1987-10-31	19.50%	19.50%
1987-11-01 to 1988-02-29	18.00%	18.00%
1988-03-01 to 1989-02-28	15.00%	15.00%
1989-03-01 to 1989-08-31	17.00%	17.00%
1989-09-01 to 1990-08-31	21.00%	21.00%
1990-09-01 to 1991-02-28	19.00%	19.00%
1991-03-01 to 1991-08-31	17.00%	17.00%
1991-09-01 to 1992-02-28	15.00%	15.00%
1992-02-29 to 1992-08-31	13.00%	13.00%
1992-09-01 to 1993-08-31	11.25%	11.25%
1993-09-01 to 1995-02-28	10.50%	10.50%
1995-03-01 to 1997-02-28	12.00%	12.00%
1997-03-01 to 1997-08-31	10.50%	10.50%
1997-09-01 to 1998-08-31	10.00%	10.00%
1998-09-01 to 2000-02-29	9.50%	9.50%
2000-03-01 to 2000-08-31	10.00%	10.00%
2000-09-01 to 2001-08-31	11.00%	11.00%
2001-09-01 to 2002-02-28	10.00%	10.00%
2002-03-01 to 2006-12-31	9.00%	9.00%
2007-01-01 to 2009-03-05	10.00%	10.00%
2009-03-06 to 2010-06-30	9.00%	9.00%
2010-07-01 to 2010-12-31	8.50%	10.50%
2011-01-01 to 2011-06-30	8.75%	10.75%
2011-07-01 to 2011-12-31	8.75%	10.75%
2012-01-01 to 2012-06-30	8.25%	10.25%
2012-07-01 to 2012-12-31	7.50%	9.50%
2013-01-01 to 2013-06-30	7.00%	9.00%
2013-07-01 to 2013-12-31	6.75%	8.75%
2014-01-01 to 2014-06-30	6.50%	8.50%
2014-07-01 to 2014-12-31	6.50%	8.50%
2015-01-01 to 2015-06-30	6.50%	8.50%
2015-07-01 to 2015-12-31	6.00%	8.00%
2016-01-01 to 2016-06-30	6.00%	8.00%
2016-07-01 to 2016-12-31	5.75%	7.75%
2017-01-01 to 2017-06-30	5.50%	7.50%
2017-07-01 to 2017-12-31	5.50%	7.50%
2018-01-01 to 2018-06-30	5.50%	7.50%
2018-07-01 to 2018-12-31	5.50%	7.50%
2019-01-01 to 2019-06-30	5.50%	7.50%
2019-07-01 to 2019-12-31	5.25%	7.25%
2020-01-01 to 2020-06-30	4.75%	6.75%
2020-07-01 to 2020-12-31	4.25%	6.25%
2021-01-01 to 2021-06-30	4.10%	6.10%
2021-07-01 to 2021-12-31	4.10%	6.10%
2022-01-01 to 2022-06-30	4.10%	6.10%
2022-07-01 to 2022-12-31	4.85%	6.85%
2023-01-01 to 2023-06-30	7.10%	9.10%
2023-07-01 to 2023-12-31	8.10%	10.10%
2024-01-01 to 2024-06-30	8.35%	10.35%
2024-07-01 to 2024-12-31	8.35%	10.35%
2025-01-01 to 2025-06-30	8.35%	10.35%
2025-07-01 to 2025-12-31	7.85%	9.85%
2026-01-01 to 2026-06-30	7.60%	9.60%
2026-07-01 to 2026-12-31	8.35%	10.35%

The rates and official sources should be reviewed whenever NSW publishes a new interest-rate period.

Personal injury calculator

Personal Injury Calculator provides a preliminary estimate of damages, interest and separate claim costs for personal-injury matters.

The calculator has two calculation modes:

Statement of Claim Form 3B mode.
Other civil personal-injury claim mode.

Form 3B is a general statement-of-claim form and is not limited to motor vehicle claims.

The calculator is an estimate only. It does not determine whether a claim will succeed or what amount a court, insurer or tribunal will ultimately award.

Calculation modes

Mode	How it works
Statement of Claim Form 3B	Economic loss, non-economic loss and other damages are included in the amount of claim. Treatment and care amounts are shown separately as statutory-benefit review items unless they are added separately.
Civil personal-injury claim	Economic loss, non-economic loss, other damages and treatment and care damages are included in the amount of claim.

How the calculation works

The amount of claim is calculated as:

Amount of claim = Economic losses + Non-economic loss + Other damages

In civil personal-injury mode, treatment and care damages are also included:

Amount of claim = Economic losses + Non-economic loss + Other damages + Treatment and care damages

The final total is calculated as:

TOTAL = Amount of claim + Interest + Filing fees + Service fees + Solicitors fees

Interest and costs are separate from the damages breakdown.

Damages fields

Category	Fields included
Economic losses	Past loss of earnings, past superannuation, additional income tax, future economic loss and future superannuation.
Non-economic loss	Compensation for pain, suffering, loss of amenities of life and other non-economic effects of injury.
Other damages	Other damages that do not fit within the economic-loss fields.
Treatment and care	Past treatment, past gratuitous care, future gratuitous care, past paid care and future paid care.

Interest

Interest can be entered manually or calculated automatically.

When automatic interest is enabled:

the user enters the interest calculation amount;
the user selects the start date and end date;
the calculator uses NSW pre-judgment interest periods;
interest is calculated separately for each rate period;
days are counted inclusively; and
the result uses simple interest and does not compound interest.

The automatic interest calculation uses the same rate-period method as the Interest calculator.

More information is available at:

Separate costs

The following amounts are entered separately:

Filing fees paid to the court.
Service fees paid to serve documents on the defendant.
Solicitors fees charged under a costs agreement or other applicable costs arrangement.

These costs are added to the final total but are not part of the damages breakdown.

For court-specific jurisdiction and filing-fee calculations, use the Statement of Claim Form 3B calculator.

Legal framework

The applicable legal framework may include:

Important limitations

The calculator does not automatically determine:

liability or contributory negligence;
medical impairment;
future employment or career changes;
tax and benefit adjustments;
Medicare or Centrelink recoveries;
statutory benefit eligibility;
the correct court jurisdiction;
the amount of legal costs recoverable; or
the amount that will ultimately be awarded.

The calculation should be checked against the applicable legislation, evidence and professional legal advice.

Claim calculator

Calculator. Examples:

Personal injury claim: 2015-03-30 road traffic injury, calculation.
NSW court case against Peter Livers, calculation

Forms and applications

Form 3B – Statement of Claim

is the NSW court form used when the person filing the claim is acting in person rather than being legally represented.

The official PDF can be downloaded here:

Form 3B – Statement of Claim (official PDF)

Personal Injury Commission – Pathway Portal

Motor accident disputes before the Personal Injury Commission (PIC) are generally lodged through the Commission's online Pathway Portal. The portal is used to complete applications, upload supporting documents, communicate with the Commission and access information about the dispute.

Legal fees calculator

Legal fees calculator - estimates the legal fees that you can get back after completing your claim.

Any legal dispute may incur some costs. If you go to court or tribunal some legal fees often are covered by the party that loses. There is a strict regulation of maximum of reimbursed legal fees for personal injury claims. Unfortunately, Livers, my solicitor at that time, did not informed me at that time nor he submitted a request to compensate legal fees, so I got less than I was entitled to. To check what I got and what I could have got I created legal fees calculator.

Here is an example of use of legal fees calculator based on my case. There is a calculation of fees that I got and what I could have got if Livers, my solicitor, did his job.

The allowed maximums are based on Motor Accidents Compensation Regulation 2020.

Statement of claim calculator

Statement of Claim Form 3B calculator estimates the principal amount of a civil claim, interest and the main filing and service costs that may be associated with starting proceedings in NSW.

The calculator is based on the official Form 3B - Statement of Claim. It is an estimate only. It does not determine whether a claim will succeed, whether interest will be awarded, or which costs a court will ultimately allow.

How the calculator selects the court

The calculator uses the claim type and amount to select the likely court:

General civil claims up to $100,000: Local Court.
General civil claims above $100,000 and up to $1,250,000: District Court.
General civil claims above $1,250,000: Supreme Court.
Motor accident claims: District Court regardless of the amount claimed.
Work injury claims: District Court regardless of the amount claimed.

A District Court proceeding above $1,250,000 may be possible in limited circumstances, such as where the applicable consent or jurisdictional rule is satisfied. The correct court should be confirmed before filing.

The court selection made by the calculator is an initial estimate and is not legal advice.

How the total is calculated

The calculator adds the following amounts:

TOTAL = Amount of claim + Interest + Filing fees + Service fees + Solicitors fees

Amount of claim is the principal amount of damages claimed.
Interest is an estimated amount calculated from the claim amount and selected dates.
Filing fees are paid to the court when the claim is lodged.
Service fees are paid to serve the court documents on the defendant.
Solicitors fees are entered manually because they depend on the costs agreement, work performed and any costs order.

The calculator does not decide whether any amount will ultimately be awarded by the court.

Calculator fields

Field	Description	How the calculator uses it	Source
Amount of claim	The principal amount of damages claimed, before adding interest, filing fees, service fees or solicitors fees.	Used to calculate interest, select the likely court and calculate the total.	Form 3B - Statement of Claim
Claim type	General civil claim, motor accident claim or work injury claim.	Determines whether the Local Court, District Court or Supreme Court is likely to apply.	NSW District Court jurisdiction
Court	The court selected automatically from the claim type and amount.	General civil claims above $1,250,000 are directed to the Supreme Court by the calculator.	NSW court jurisdiction information
Filing party	The person or organisation filing the claim, such as an individual or corporation.	Filing fees differ between individuals and corporations.	District Court fees / Supreme Court fees
Interest	Estimated pre-judgment interest on the amount of the claim.	Uses the selected start date, end date and NSW published interest-rate periods. This is an estimate and interest is not automatically awarded.	NSW interest rates and Civil Procedure Act 2005, section 100
Filing fees	The fee paid to the court when the claim is lodged.	Calculated automatically according to the selected court and filing party. Court fees may change each financial year.	Local Court fees, District Court fees and Supreme Court fees
Service fees	The cost of serving the filed documents on the defendant.	May include NSW Sheriff service, Local Court postal service or a private process server quotation.	NSW Sheriff's Office fees
Solicitors fees	Estimated legal fees charged by a solicitor.	Entered manually because the amount depends on the costs agreement, work performed and any costs order.	Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005
Basis document links	Links to documents supporting the amount of claim or solicitors fees.	Users may paste links to spreadsheets, agreements, fee schedules or other supporting documents. These links do not affect the calculation.	User-provided supporting documents
Total	The amount of the claim plus interest, filing fees, service fees and solicitors fees.	Adds all amounts shown in the calculator.	This is an estimate and should be checked before filing.

Filing fees are paid to the court to lodge the claim. Service fees are paid to serve the court documents on the defendant. They are separate costs.

Current filing fee examples

The calculator currently uses the following originating-process filing fees:

Court	Individual	Corporation
Local Court - General Division	$370	$740
Local Court - Small Claims Division	$179	$358
District Court	$1,119	$2,240
Supreme Court	$1,443	$3,949

These rates are examples based on the current fee schedules. Court fees may change and the official fee schedule should always be checked before filing.

Service fee calculation

The service fee depends on the method selected:

NSW Sheriff: calculated by the number of addresses and attempts.
Local Court postal service: calculated by the number of addresses.
Private process server: the quoted or charged amount is entered manually.

Service fees are separate from filing fees and are not included in the court filing fee.

Latest revision as of 00:19, 6 October 2026

Income loss calculator

Information entered into the calculator

Calculation method

Pre-1 December 2017 calculation

On or after 1 December 2017 calculation

Important limitations

Official sources

Interest calculator

Interest types

Source of the rates

Interest-rate table used by the calculator

Personal injury calculator

Calculation modes

How the calculation works

Damages fields

Interest

Separate costs

Legal framework

Important limitations

Claim calculator

Forms and applications

Form 3B – Statement of Claim

Personal Injury Commission – Pathway Portal

Legal fees calculator

Statement of claim calculator

How the calculator selects the court

How the total is calculated

Calculator fields

Current filing fee examples

Service fee calculation

Official forms and information