NSW CTP cover explained
Does CTP cover damage to my car and belongings?
No - CTP is personal injury insurance, not property insurance
A NSW Green Slip or CTP policy responds to death and personal injury caused by a motor accident. It does not ordinarily pay to repair your car, replace a phone or laptop, reimburse damaged luggage, or cover towing and hire-car costs. One crash can therefore create two separate matters: a CTP personal injury claim and a vehicle or property-damage claim.
This distinction matters because the forms, insurers, evidence and legal questions are different. A claimant should not wait for a repair dispute to finish before protecting a personal injury claim, and should not assume that a CTP claim number also opens a property claim.
The Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 establishes a compulsory third-party scheme for death and injury resulting from motor accidents. Statutory benefits can include reasonable and necessary treatment and care and, for an eligible earner, weekly payments. A separate common law damages claim may be possible only if the fault, injury and other statutory requirements are met. None of those CTP categories is ordinary property compensation.
Reviewed by Herman Chan, Stephen Young Lawyers
What can a NSW CTP claim cover?
A personal injury benefits claim can address treatment and care arising from the crash. If an injury causes an eligible earner to lose earnings, weekly statutory benefits may also be payable under the scheme. The insurer considers the injury, accident causation, work capacity and supporting documents rather than the cost of repairing the vehicle.
A common law damages claim is a different claim from statutory benefits. It can address eligible economic loss and, where the permanent impairment caused by the accident is greater than 10%, non-economic loss. It requires separate fault and injury analysis. Receiving treatment expenses or weekly benefits does not automatically create a damages entitlement.
- Medical and rehabilitation expenses that are reasonable, necessary and related to the accident.
- Weekly payments where the claimant satisfies the earnings and incapacity requirements.
- Common law damages only where the separate statutory requirements are met.
- Death-related statutory benefits or damages in an eligible fatal-accident matter.
What usually belongs in the vehicle or property claim?
Vehicle repairs, a write-off value, towing, storage, hire-car charges and damage to personal belongings are ordinarily dealt with through comprehensive insurance, third-party property insurance, or a direct property claim against a legally responsible party. The correct route depends on the policies held and the circumstances of the crash.
The property insurer may investigate fault for repair purposes. That investigation can produce useful photographs, statements or damage reports, but it does not replace the CTP insurer's personal injury decision. Keep copies of material given to either insurer because inconsistent accident descriptions can later create avoidable disputes.
How should the two claims be managed together?
Use separate file notes and claim numbers. Record which insurer is handling personal injury and which insurer is handling property damage. If the same factual question appears in both matters, give accurate and consistent information and correct any mistake promptly in writing.
A low repair bill does not prove that no injury occurred, and severe vehicle damage does not prove the extent of an injury. Medical causation is assessed using the accident history, symptoms, examination findings, treatment records and other relevant evidence. Property photographs are part of the factual picture, not a medical impairment assessment.
Practical next steps
What should I do after the crash?
Protect the personal injury and property issues as separate workstreams from the beginning.
Obtain medical care and record the injury
Tell the treating practitioner how the crash occurred, when symptoms began and how they affect work and daily activities. Ask for the appropriate certificate if work capacity is affected.
Identify the relevant CTP insurer
Use the registration of the vehicle believed most at fault through SIRA CTP Connect. If the vehicle is uninsured or cannot be identified, obtain advice about the Nominal Defendant route.
Lodge the approved personal injury benefits form
Send the completed current form and supporting information to the relevant CTP insurer. Keep proof of the date and method of lodgement.
Notify the property insurer separately
Provide the repair insurer with the material it requests, but keep the CTP claim number, medical documents and injury correspondence in a separate file.
Evidence
Documents to keep
Keep enough material to prove each type of loss without mixing the two calculations.
- Police event number and the registrations, drivers and insurers involved.
- Medical certificates, consultation notes, referrals, invoices and treatment requests.
- Payslips, tax or business records and capacity certificates if earnings are affected.
- Scene and vehicle photographs, dashcam footage and witness details.
- Repair quotations, assessment reports, towing and storage invoices for the property claim.
- Receipts or ownership evidence for damaged personal items.
- Separate correspondence and claim numbers for the CTP and property insurers.
Common mistakes and exceptions
- Do not assume a Green Slip is comprehensive motor insurance. It does not ordinarily repair either vehicle.
- Do not delay the injury claim while waiting for a property-fault decision or repair assessment.
- Do not describe a property settlement as the settlement of the personal injury claim unless the documents clearly say that and legal advice has been obtained.
- Do not estimate injury severity from repair cost alone. Medical and causation evidence must be considered separately.
- An accident outside NSW, an unregistered vehicle permit or another jurisdiction can change the applicable insurance analysis.
Timing
Time limits for the personal injury claim
Under the current NSW scheme, the personal injury claim should be protected independently of any repair claim.
- The general period for lodging a statutory personal injury benefits claim is three months after the motor accident.
- Lodgement within 28 days is significant if weekly payments are sought from the day after the accident. A later claim requires an explanation and may affect backdating.
- A police report is generally required within 28 days unless police attended the crash. Keep the event number where available.
- A common law damages claim has a separate general three-year period and separate eligibility requirements. Earlier schemes and exceptional cases require individual checking.
Frequently asked questions
- Will the CTP insurer pay my repair excess?
- Ordinarily no. A repair excess is part of the vehicle or property insurance matter, not the CTP personal injury benefits claim.
- Can I make an injury claim if my car was not badly damaged?
- Potentially. Vehicle damage is relevant factual evidence, but the existence and cause of an injury are assessed using the whole medical and accident record. A small repair bill does not automatically defeat an injury claim.
- Does CTP pay for a damaged phone or child seat?
- Not as ordinary property damage. Those items may belong in a comprehensive, third-party property or direct property claim, depending on the insurance arrangements and fault evidence.
- Do I use the same insurer for both claims?
- Not necessarily. The relevant CTP insurer is usually identified from the vehicle believed most at fault. A different comprehensive or property insurer may handle vehicle repairs.
- Does acceptance of my property claim mean the CTP insurer accepts fault?
- No automatic rule applies. Each insurer makes decisions for a different policy and legal purpose. Obtain the CTP insurer's written liability decision rather than relying on the repair outcome.
- Can treatment be claimed before the car is repaired?
- Yes, the injury process should not wait for repairs. Seek appropriate care and lodge the personal injury benefits claim promptly.
Related NSW CTP guides
Official sources
- Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), current in-force version
- SIRA guide for people injured in motor accidents in NSW
- SIRA CTP Connect: identify the relevant NSW CTP insurer
- Service NSW: apply for personal injury benefits after a motor vehicle accident
The legislation and guidance linked above are the public-source basis for this page. The result in an individual claim depends on the accident date, the current law, the insurer decision and the available evidence.
Separate the two claims
Unsure which loss belongs in your CTP claim?
Send the accident date, CTP insurer details and the relevant injury decision or medical certificate. We can identify the personal injury issue without confusing it with the repair claim.
General information only: This page is about the NSW motor accidents scheme and is not legal advice. It does not promise claim acceptance, payment or damages. Time limits and the correct insurer or scheme depend on the individual facts.