NSW CTP PAWE Calculator

PAWE is the pre-accident earnings baseline used in the statutory weekly-payment calculation. It is not the weekly payment itself. The final payment can also depend on the applicable statutory percentage, work capacity, post-accident earnings and cessation rules.

PAWE is also not an assessment of common law damages or total compensation. An apparently correct PAWE does not decide fault, future earning loss, treatment needs, whole person impairment or eligibility for damages.

For a worker employed throughout the 12 months before the accident, the calculator can divide verified included gross earnings for that period by 52. For a worker employed continuously for less than 12 months, it can divide verified included earnings by the exact number of calendar days and multiply by seven. Multiple employee jobs can be combined only where the same clear period applies.

The tool stops and recommends individual review for self-employment or business income, a material earnings change, a future employment arrangement, apprentice or trainee progression, a student pathway, the special 26-week pathway, an earlier loss-of-earnings payment, an uncertain category or an accident before 1 December 2017. Those pathways require facts and legal judgment that should not be guessed by software.

Schedule 1 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 deals with income from personal exertion. Depending on the facts, earnings may include salary or wages, commissions, fees, bonuses, allowances and gratuities. The exact treatment of each amount must be supported by the employment records and the statutory definition.

Employer superannuation contributions, rent or dividends, and the monetary value of annual leave or other leave are not ordinary included earnings. Business receipts are not automatically the individual’s earnings. Interest and amounts received through a company, trust or partnership can require separate analysis. If an item is uncertain, exclude it from an automated result and obtain a review rather than forcing it into the calculation.

Employees and casual workers: collect payslips, payroll summaries, PAYG income statements, rosters, timesheets, contracts, overtime, loading, commission, bonus and allowance records. Multiple jobs: collect complete records for every job covering the same pre-accident period.

Self-employed people and business owners: invoices, BAS, tax returns, profit and loss statements, bank records, contracts, entity records and accountant material may be needed. The calculator deliberately does not treat turnover as personal earnings. Also keep the insurer’s PAWE worksheet, written decision and any request for missing documents.

A difference can result from a missing pay period, a different start date, excluded overtime or allowances, a second job, a duplicated amount, a recent earnings change or a different statutory category. Start by asking for the insurer’s worksheet and matching every line to a dated record.

The comparison screen uses a small arithmetic tolerance so cents and display rounding do not create a false warning. That tolerance is a software aid, not a legal rule. Similar figures are not automatically legally correct, and a larger difference does not by itself prove that the insurer made an error.

PAWE is the pre-accident baseline. The statutory percentage is applied under the Act for the relevant period. Work capacity concerns what work the injury allows after the accident. Post-accident earnings concern actual or assessed earnings after the accident. Cessation rules can affect how long payments continue.

A damages claim is a separate common law pathway with separate fault, causation, injury and loss requirements. The calculator does not decide whether a person qualifies for damages or the value of a damages claim.

Enter the finalised weekly PAWE shown in the written decision, not an interim payment or an estimate from a telephone call. Keep the decision date, reasons, worksheet and review information. Ask the insurer to identify the period, earnings items and records used.

Time limits can depend on the decision and the review or dispute being pursued. This page does not state one fixed deadline. Contacting a lawyer does not extend a statutory or procedural time limit. If a written decision may need review, obtain advice promptly and provide the actual letter.

The calculator saves draft entries only in your browser’s local storage so you can return on the same device. Use “Delete my entered data” to remove them. Nothing is sent to NSW CTP Claim unless you actively submit the contact form and authorise the calculation summary. Do not enter tax file numbers, bank account numbers, Medicare numbers or other sensitive identifiers.

Law checked: 23 July 2026. The decision rules were checked against Schedule 1, clauses 2–6 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, the current Motor Accident Injuries Regulation 2017, and clauses 4.45–4.49 and 4.59 of the Motor Accident Guidelines version 10.1, which commenced on 12 December 2025.