Car Accident (CTP) Compensation Claims in Australia: A State-by-State Guide for 2026

Compulsory third party (CTP) insurance is the cover attached to your vehicle registration that pays compensation to people injured in a motor accident. Unlike comprehensive car insurance, which covers damage to vehicles and property, CTP covers personal injury to people. There is no single national scheme. Each state and territory has its own legislation, its own regulator and its own rules about who can claim, what you can claim and how long you have to do it.

Two big ideas run through every scheme. The first is no-fault benefits: defined payments for medical treatment, rehabilitation and lost income that most schemes now provide to any injured person regardless of who caused the crash. The second is fault-based (common law) damages: a lump sum for pain and suffering and future losses that you generally only receive if you can prove another road user was negligent and your injury is serious enough to cross a threshold.

Which scheme applies usually depends on where the accident happened, and sometimes on where the at-fault vehicle was registered. If you are a NSW resident injured in a crash interstate, or you are hit by an interstate-registered vehicle, the rules can get complicated, and the relevant regulators publish guidance on cross-border claims. When in doubt, contact the scheme in the state where the accident occurred.

The rest of this guide walks through each jurisdiction. Because thresholds, caps and weekly benefit rates are indexed and change regularly (often each 1 July), treat the dollar figures here as indicative 2026 amounts and confirm the current number at the official source linked in each section before you rely on it.

NSW is regulated by the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, which applies to accidents on or after 1 December 2017. The scheme starts with statutory benefits available to most injured people regardless of fault, covering weekly income payments, medical and treatment costs and attendant care.

Income support is paid at up to 95% of your pre-accident weekly earnings for the first 13 weeks, then reduces to around 80-85% from weeks 14 to 52. Following reforms that took effect on 1 April 2023, statutory benefits run for up to 52 weeks regardless of fault, including for 'threshold injuries' (soft tissue injuries and minor psychological injuries). People with more serious injuries who are not at fault can receive benefits beyond 52 weeks, with extended weekly payments available up to 156 weeks (impairment of 10% or less) or up to 260 weeks where impairment is greater than 10% and a damages claim is pending.

Key points and time limits in NSW:

• Lodge a personal injury benefits claim within 28 days of the accident to receive benefits backdated to the date of accident, and within 3 months at the very latest.
• 'Threshold injuries' (minor soft tissue and minor psychological injuries) cannot receive a damages lump sum, only statutory benefits.
• A common law damages claim (for pain and suffering and economic loss) must generally be made within 3 years of the accident and requires proving another party was at fault and that your injury is above the threshold.
• The most severely injured are cared for under lifetime care arrangements administered by icare, on a no-fault basis.

Legal costs in the NSW scheme are regulated. Lawyers cannot charge you to lodge your initial application for personal injury benefits, and fixed fees apply to many disputes, so confirm any costs agreement in writing before proceeding.

Victoria's scheme is run by the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) under the Transport Accident Act 1986. It is a no-fault scheme: anyone injured in a transport accident can claim medical and like expenses, income support (loss of earnings) and other support, regardless of who was at fault. You should lodge your TAC claim within 1 year of the accident in most cases.

Beyond ongoing benefits, Victoria offers two lump sum pathways. The first is an impairment benefit, a no-fault one-off lump sum available where your whole person impairment is assessed at 11% or more. As at 1 July 2025 this ranged from about $9,580 at 11% impairment up to a maximum of about $437,830 at 100% impairment, indexed annually each 1 July to Melbourne CPI.

The second pathway is common law compensation, which does require proving another party was at fault. To qualify you must have a 'serious injury', meaning either a permanent whole person impairment of 30% or more, or a serious long-term impairment or loss of a body function established through the narrative test (a Serious Injury Certificate). As at 1 July 2025 the indicative caps were a minimum threshold of about $67,980, a maximum for pain and suffering of about $680,160, and a maximum for pecuniary (economic) loss of about $1,530,470.

Time limit for common law: in most cases you must start a common law compensation claim within 6 years of the accident (for minors, the clock starts at age 18). Because these figures are indexed every July, confirm the current amounts on the TAC website before relying on them.

Queensland's scheme operates under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 and is overseen by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC). Unlike NSW or Victoria, Queensland remains primarily an at-fault (fault-based) scheme for compensation: to make a successful claim you generally need to show another driver was wholly or partly at fault. Queensland does, however, run a separate National Injury Insurance Scheme for people catastrophically injured, on a no-fault basis.

Queensland's deadlines are among the strictest in the country, so diarise them carefully:

• Lodge your Notice of Accident Claim Form (NOAC) with the CTP insurer within 9 months of the accident (or of the first appearance of symptoms).
• If you consult a lawyer about your claim, the NOAC must be lodged within 1 month of that first consultation, even if you are still within the 9 months, so whichever date comes first applies.
• Where the vehicle cannot be identified (a hit-and-run), notice to the Nominal Defendant must generally be given within 3 months.
• The overall limitation period to start court proceedings for a personal injury claim in Queensland is 3 years.

If a deadline passes, you may still be able to proceed with a reasonable excuse for the delay, but this is not guaranteed and adds risk and cost. Children injured in crashes generally have extended timeframes, with the limitation period not starting until they turn 18.

Queensland regulates speculative (no win, no fee) costs. Under the Legal Profession Act, a solicitor cannot charge more than 50% of the net settlement amount, a 'fair and reasonable' cap, though most reputable firms charge well under this. Always get the costs agreement in writing.

Western Australia's motor injury insurance is administered by the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA). It is an at-fault scheme: to make a successful injury claim, fault must be identified on the part of a driver of a WA-registered vehicle. Cover applies to injuries caused to others by a WA-registered vehicle anywhere in Australia.

If you were not at fault, you can claim medical treatment, rehabilitation, compensation for inability to work and other expenses. Compensation for pain and suffering (general damages) is only payable once your injury exceeds a minimum threshold, and the amount is capped, with both the threshold and the cap adjusted for inflation each financial year. Because these figures change annually, check ICWA's current Threshold Schedule rather than relying on an old number.

Separately, WA has a no-fault Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme that funds treatment, care and support for people catastrophically injured in a motor vehicle crash regardless of fault, covering injuries such as spinal cord damage, severe traumatic brain injury, multiple amputations, severe burns and permanent blindness.

As with other states there are strict time limits, so seek advice early. Confirm the current thresholds, caps and deadlines directly with ICWA before acting.

South Australia's CTP scheme is overseen by the independent CTP Insurance Regulator, with claims handled by private CTP insurers. To claim damages for personal injury you must prove the other party was negligent (the fault requirement). Compensation is assessed using the Injury Scale Value (ISV), a scale from 0 to 100 based on injury severity.

Damages for non-economic loss (pain and suffering) are generally only awarded if your ISV exceeds 10, that is, an ISV of 11 or greater, unless the consequences of your injuries are exceptional compared with similar cases. As an indication of how the ISV translates to dollars on the indexed tables, an ISV of 11 has been worth several thousand dollars, rising to over $340,000 at the top of the scale. These amounts are indexed, so confirm the current figures with the regulator.

Time limits in SA are tight: ideally lodge your claim within 6 months of the accident. If it has been more than 6 months but less than 3 years, the insurer will ask why there was a delay; and as you approach 3 years you must file court action to keep the claim alive.

For the most serious injuries, South Australia runs the Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS), a no-fault scheme that commenced on 1 July 2014 under the Motor Vehicle Accidents (Lifetime Support Scheme) Act 2013. It funds necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support for life for people catastrophically injured on SA roads, regardless of fault, covering spinal cord injuries, moderate to severe brain injuries, amputations, severe burns and permanent blindness. You may be eligible for the LSS even if your CTP claim is not accepted.

Tasmania is covered by the Motor Accidents Insurance Board (MAIB) under the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973. The MAIB provides 'scheduled benefits' (medical and income benefits) on a no-fault basis to anyone injured in a motor accident, and also allows common law claims against an at-fault driver for those with more serious injuries. An Application for Benefits (Form B) must be returned to the MAIB within 12 months of the accident; deadlines are strict and have been enforced firmly by the tribunal, so do not delay.

The Australian Capital Territory replaced its old CTP scheme with the Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) Scheme on 1 February 2020, under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2019, overseen by the MAI Commission. Anyone injured in an ACT motor accident can make a Personal Injuries Application for defined benefits regardless of fault, which can include treatment and care, lost income benefits and a 'quality of life' payment where the injury is significant and permanent. Treatment and care can be paid for up to 5 years after the accident, and a free Defined Benefits Information Service is available to help injured people understand their entitlements.

The Northern Territory runs a fully no-fault scheme, the Motor Accidents Compensation (MAC) Scheme, administered by TIO on behalf of the Motor Accidents Compensation Commission (MACC). It covers all road users (drivers, passengers, pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists) regardless of fault, and pays benefits such as medical and rehabilitation expenses, loss of earning capacity and permanent impairment, on a periodic basis for as long as is reasonable and necessary, sometimes for life.

Across all three, exact benefit amounts and any lump sum thresholds are set in regulations and indexed, so confirm current figures and deadlines directly with the MAIB, the ACT MAI Commission or the NT MACC.

Across the schemes, the things you can typically claim fall into a few categories. Understanding these helps you keep the right records from day one (medical reports, payslips, receipts and a diary of how the injury affects your daily life).

• Medical and treatment expenses: ambulance, hospital, GP, physiotherapy, surgery, medication and rehabilitation.
• Income support / loss of earnings: weekly payments while you cannot work, and in fault-based claims, future loss of earning capacity.
• Care and assistance: paid or gratuitous attendant care and domestic help.
• Lump sum for permanent impairment: a no-fault impairment benefit in some states (such as Victoria's TAC impairment benefit).
• Pain and suffering (non-economic loss): a fault-based lump sum, available only above each state's injury threshold.

You do not always need a lawyer to access no-fault statutory benefits, and many schemes specifically prevent lawyers from charging you to lodge the initial benefits application. Legal help becomes most valuable for fault-based damages claims, disputes over liability or impairment percentage, and serious or catastrophic injuries.

When choosing a lawyer, look beyond advertising. The most reliable signals are an Accredited Specialist in personal injury, recognised by your state law society (which requires at least five years' full-time practice and three years in the speciality, plus examinations), and independent peer-and-client rankings published by Doyle's Guide. Only individual solicitors, not firms, can hold accreditation, so ask which named lawyer will actually run your file. Confirm the costs agreement in writing: in NSW and Victoria a lawyer cannot legally take a fixed percentage of your payout, and 'no win, no fee' still means you may owe disbursements, so read the fine print.