Car Accidents
Help with NSW CTP Green Slip claims after a car accident, from statutory benefits to damages claims and disputes with the insurer.
After a car accident in NSW, injured people can claim statutory benefits through the CTP Green Slip scheme under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), and some can also claim damages. The scheme has strict time limits, some as short as 28 days. Vamp Law advises on which benefits apply, manages the claim with the insurer and acts in disputes.
What can you claim after a car accident in NSW?
After a car accident in NSW you can usually claim statutory benefits from a CTP Green Slip insurer under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), and if someone else was at fault you may also be able to claim damages. Statutory benefits are payable whether or not anyone was at fault, and even to a person who caused the accident (section 3.1), although they are more limited for people mostly at fault, and an at-fault driver of an uninsured vehicle cannot claim them (section 3.36). The scheme applies to accidents from 1 December 2017.
The scheme is not only for drivers. Passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists injured in a motor accident in NSW can claim too. Vamp Law acts for injured people in these claims, and in separate matters for insurers, with a conflict check on every new matter so it never acts for both sides of the same claim.
What statutory benefits does CTP insurance pay?
Statutory benefits fall into three main groups:
Weekly payments
income support if you were earning when injured and lost income. For the first 13 weeks it is 95% of the difference between your pre-accident earnings and what you can earn afterwards, then generally 80% or 85%, subject to a weekly maximum (sections 3.6 and 3.7).
Treatment and care
reasonable and necessary medical treatment, rehabilitation and care expenses.
Funeral expenses
where a person dies, reasonable funeral expenses, whatever the question of fault (section 3.4).
How long benefits last depends on the injury and on fault. If your only injuries are threshold injuries, meaning soft tissue injuries or a psychological or psychiatric injury that is not a recognised psychiatric illness (section 1.6), weekly payments and treatment benefits generally stop 52 weeks after the accident. The same applies if you were mostly at fault, except that treatment benefits continue for people who were 16 or under at the time (sections 3.11 and 3.28). For accidents before 1 April 2023 that period was 26 weeks, and threshold injuries were called minor injuries.
For other injuries, weekly payments can continue for up to two years, and longer only if a claim for damages is pending (section 3.12). Treatment and care benefits can continue after that where they are still needed.
When can you claim damages after a car accident?
You can generally claim damages if another driver or vehicle owner was wholly or partly at fault and your injuries are more than threshold injuries (section 4.4). Damages can cover economic loss, such as past and future loss of earnings, and non-economic loss, but damages for non-economic loss are only available if your degree of permanent impairment is greater than 10% (section 4.11). Damages are reduced if your own conduct contributed, for example not wearing a seatbelt.
Legal costs in the CTP scheme are regulated. The Act allows maximum legal costs to be fixed by regulation and limits when legal costs for a statutory benefits claim can be charged or recovered (sections 8.3 and 8.10). Vamp Law explains at the outset which rules apply to your claim and sets out its fees in a written costs agreement before starting work.
What are the time limits for a CTP claim in NSW?
The CTP scheme has several time limits, and some are short:
Report the accident to police within 28 days
SIRA's Motor Accident Guidelines require an accident to be reported to the NSW Police Force within 28 days unless an officer attended, and you should keep the event number.
Lodge a statutory benefits claim within 28 days if you can
If the claim is made within 28 days of the accident, weekly payments can be paid from the day after the accident. If it is made later, weekly payments are generally not paid for any period before the claim (section 6.13).
Lodge it within three months at the latest
A statutory benefits claim must be made within three months of the accident. A later claim needs a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay, and generally has to be made within three years (section 6.13).
Lodge a damages claim within two years if you rely on weekly payments
Weekly payments stop after two years unless a damages claim is pending (section 3.12).
Make a damages claim within three years
A claim for damages must be made within three years of the accident, and a later claim needs a full and satisfactory explanation (section 6.14).
Who do you claim against after a car accident?
Claims are made to a CTP insurer, usually the insurer of the vehicle alleged to be at fault, rather than to the other driver. A damages claim is made to the insurer of the at-fault vehicle (section 6.12).
If the at-fault vehicle was uninsured, or cannot be identified, such as in a hit and run, the claim is made against the Nominal Defendant (sections 2.29 and 2.30). For an unidentified vehicle, you must first make reasonable efforts to identify it, known as due inquiry and search, and a claim can be rejected if that step was not taken (section 2.31).
What if the CTP insurer rejects or reduces your claim?
Many insurer decisions can be reviewed. The first step is an internal review by the insurer, which must be completed within 14 days of the request (section 7.9). If you still disagree, the dispute can go to the Personal Injury Commission, the independent statutory tribunal that resolves motor accident disputes in NSW.
Disputes can include whether an injury is a threshold injury and the degree of permanent impairment. A damages claim that does not settle generally has to be assessed by the Commission, or exempted from assessment, before court proceedings can start (section 6.31). Kyra Pastrovic advises on when to make a damages claim and represents injured people in reviews and disputes.
Frequently asked questions
Usually. Statutory benefits are payable in most cases even if you caused the accident, though they generally stop after 52 weeks if you were mostly at fault, which the Act defines as contributory negligence greater than 61%.
Any damages claim is reduced to reflect your share of fault.
A threshold injury is a soft tissue injury, or a psychological or psychiatric injury that is not a recognised psychiatric illness. Fractures, nerve injuries and ruptured tendons or ligaments are not threshold injuries.
An insurer's decision on this can be reviewed.
Yes. The scheme is not limited to drivers. Passengers, and pedestrians and cyclists hit by a vehicle, can claim on the same basis.
Workers compensation usually applies instead. CTP statutory benefits are not payable while workers compensation is payable for the injury (section 3.35). How the two schemes interact affects what else can be claimed, so advice before lodging either claim is worthwhile.
Reasonable funeral expenses are payable under the scheme, and family members may have dependency and psychiatric injury claims. The wrongful death page explains those claims, and the personal injury page covers other injury claims.
Speak with Vamp Law about a car accident claim
This page is general information about the NSW CTP scheme, not advice on your situation, and the right answer depends on the facts and the documents. If you were injured in a car accident, make an enquiry or call +61 431 569 686 to speak with Kyra Pastrovic about the time limits that apply to you.
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