This page is an educational summary for professionals working with AI. It is not the law and not legal advice. Always work from the current authoritative text linked below.
What does section 58 do?
Section 58 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) empowers the relevant authority, once it has received a claim, to request by written notice that the claimant give information or a document copy relevant to the claim, where the claimant holds it or can obtain it without unreasonable expense or inconvenience, within 28 days after the date of the notice or a further allowed period. Read the current compilation on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Who does it bind?
The power is exercised by the relevant authority: the licensee for an employee employed by a licensee, Comcare for any other employee. The claimant who receives the written notice must respond.
What do practitioners get wrong?
Section 58 is not the claim provision: claims are made under section 54. Under section 58(3), non-compliance without reasonable excuse lets the authority refuse to deal with the claim until the material is given; that is not the section 57(2) suspension. The 28 days runs from the date of the notice, not from when the claimant receives it.
Where does AI use touch it?
Section 58 notices and their clocks are where AI-assisted workflows need source discipline. See statement summaries with source IDs and an assertion ledger and reasonable excuse under the SRC Act and AI. De-identify claimant material before any AI tool touches it.
Bottom line
Section 58 of the SRC Act is a post-claim information power: a written notice, a 28-day clock from the notice date, and a refuse-to-deal consequence holding the claim until the claimant responds.
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