An independent inquiry into the complaints handling process at NSW’s State Insurance Regulatory Authority has been launched.

It will review SIRA’s handling of and response to three long-running complaints arising from workers’ compensation claims.

Former Federal Court judge Alan Robertson will conduct the probe, which must report by December 6, with recommended action to be tabled in parliament.

The inquiry will recommend changes SIRA or the Department of Customer Service should make, and will re-examine a dozen other complex complaints that were considered in a 2022 inquiry.

Some of the workers’ compensation claims pre-date the 2015 establishment of SIRA, which regulates three statutory insurance schemes in NSW: motor compulsory third party, workers’ compensation, and the home building compensation program. 

The three complainants are not named in the review’s published terms of reference, for privacy reasons. 

They have made a series of complaints to SIRA arising from their workers’ compensation claims, which have not been resolved. The trio will be invited to contribute to the inquiry.

The probe will determine the “adequacy or otherwise” of the regulator’s response to each complaint.

A SIRA-commissioned review of complaints management that ended in March 2022 considered 11 cases identified as complex and/or involving allegations of corrupt conduct on the part of SIRA or its staff.

Another similar complaint identified by the regulator will also form part of the inquiry.

In April, Adam Dent resigned as the SIRA’s CEO, a role he had held since 2021. Career public servant Mandy Young took over in June.