The final amendments to the Trade Practices Act (TPA) became law last week, bringing to an end the process of public liability tort reform.

Initially the Senate failed to pass the amendments but after the Liberal Party gained the ascendancy in the upper house, the Trade Practices (Personal Injury and Death) Bill was passed.

The amendments remove the ability to initiate proceedings for personal injury and death under Part V Division 1 of the TPA, which relates to misleading or deceptive conduct. This means the Act will no longer be an attractive legal alternative to claimants seeking damages, following the introduction of tort reform by the states and territories.

Insurance Council of Australia Deputy CEO Dallas Booth told Sunrise Exchange News this was the final piece of the liability law reform program agreed to by the federal, state and territory governments in 2002.

The amendments were recommended in Justice Ipp’s review of negligence law. The review found there had been little reliance on this section of the TPA because the common law of negligence was seen as an adequate source of compensation.

However, the circumstances under which claims for personal injury and death could be made, and the range of potential defendants susceptible to such claims, were “infinite”.

Mr Booth says the development is good for the industry. “There are other remedies available under the TPA, and people still have the ability to pursue action under common law.”

He says the amendment means insurers now have certainty about the cost of claims.