Injury after a road crash · Australia
Hurt in a road crash? Here is the way through a CTP claim.
Every state and territory has compulsory third party (CTP) insurance for people injured on the road, and each runs its own scheme with its own rules. This guide follows each scheme’s own pages, so you can see who to claim from, how soon, and when people bring in a lawyer.
- 1What CTP insurance coversAnd what it leaves out, state by state
- 2Claim time limitsThe deadlines each scheme sets
- 3Do I need a lawyer?What the schemes say, and what a lawyer does
- 4If you caused the crashWhat at-fault drivers can claim in each state
- 5No win, no fee agreementsUplift fees, disbursements and costs disclosure
- 6Medical records and evidenceWhat a claim is built on
What this site is
A guide by Dotto, written in plain language. It is not a law firm, it does not act for anyone, and it is not an insurer. It explains the rules as the schemes and legal regulators publish them, and points you to the official place to check.
General information only, not legal advice. A lawyer, or the scheme in your state, can tell you how the rules apply to you.
The first stretch after a crash
The schemes ask for much the same things at the start, and most of them are easier to gather in the first days than months later.
- Get medical care, and a written record of your injuries. The TAC in Victoria cannot lodge your claim without written documentation from your health professional detailing your injuries, and Queensland asks for its own CTP medical certificate.
- Report the crash to police if they didn’t attend. NSW needs a police event number to lodge a CTP claim; the ACT asks for a report within 24 hours; Tasmania’s MAIB asks you to report in person at a police station.
- Write down the details of who was involved and any witnesses, while you remember them.
- Keep every receipt. Treatment costs you have paid may be reimbursed if the claim is accepted.
- Lodge early. Some deadlines are counted in weeks, not years. See time limits below.
More detail: the records and evidence a claim relies on.
Which scheme, in which state
You generally claim under the scheme of the state or territory where the crash happened. The biggest difference between them is fault: some pay benefits whoever caused the crash, others require you to show someone else was at least partly to blame.
| State | Scheme or regulator | Fault | Where the claim goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | SIRA regulates CTP (Green Slip) insurance | Personal injury benefits can be claimed whoever was at fault | The insurer of the at-fault vehicle, or through Service NSW |
| VIC | Transport Accident Commission | No-fault: you can claim even if the accident was your fault | The TAC |
| QLD | Motor Accident Insurance Commission regulates licensed insurers | Fault-based: you must prove another driver was at fault | The CTP insurer of the vehicle that may be at fault |
| WA | Insurance Commission of WA | Fault-based | Through the Commission’s Online Crash Report |
| SA | CTP Insurance Regulator | Generally someone other than you must be at least partly responsible | The CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle |
| TAS | Motor Accidents Insurance Board | Treatment and support paid regardless of fault | The MAIB |
| ACT | Motor Accident Injuries Scheme | It does not matter who was at fault | The MAI insurer of the vehicle most at fault |
| NT | Motor Accidents Compensation Scheme | No-fault | TIO, the scheme’s claims manager |
Hurt while working? In Victoria, the TAC asks that if you were injured while you were working, you submit a WorkSafe claim before a TAC claim. In NSW, SIRA says that if the crash was work-related, you will also need to make a workers compensation claim.
CTP is about injuries. It does not pay for damage to cars or other property. The full picture is in CTP insurance explained.
Time limits
The first deadlines arrive quickly, and a later one can close a claim altogether. Three examples from the schemes’ own pages:
NSW: claim within this to be back-paid income from the crash28 days
ACT: send the application to the insurer13 weeks
QLD: Notice of Accident Claim Form, no later than this after the crash or first symptoms9 months
Each scheme counts differently, and there are exceptions. The full list, state by state: CTP claim time limits.
Lawyers, and the calls you didn’t ask for
You don’t need a lawyer to make a CTP claim in Queensland or South Australia, their regulators say; Queensland’s suggests advice when a claim is complex or disputed. When people seek advice, and what a lawyer does.
Be wary of unexpected calls or messages offering to start a claim for you. In Queensland it is illegal to contact people this way to gather their details for a CTP claim, or to pay or receive money for referring claims. Western Australia’s Insurance Commission calls the practice claims harvesting and asks people to report it.
If you do engage a lawyer, read what a no win, no fee agreement can still cost first.
All six guides
- 1CTP insurance explainedWhat each state’s scheme pays for, and what it doesn’t
- 2CTP claim time limitsEvery scheme’s deadlines in one table
- 3Do I need a car accident lawyer?What the schemes say, what a lawyer does, and costs
- 4At-fault drivers and injury claimsWhy the answer changes at the border
- 5No win, no fee agreementsUplift fees, disbursements and your rights
- 6Medical records and evidenceThe paperwork a claim is built on