Key features of Queensland’s CTP scheme
All registered motor vehicle owners must have Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance. CTP insurance premiums are collected by the Department of Transport and Main Roads through vehicle registration renewal notices and distributed to the scheme’s licensed insurers.
CTP insurance provides:
- fair compensation and access to timely medical and rehabilitation support for people injured in motor vehicle accidents
- financial protection for motor vehicle owners and drivers in the event they cause an accident, injuring another person
- coverage of funeral costs and compensation to dependant close relatives if a person dies in a motor vehicle accident.
CTP insurance DOES NOT cover:
- vehicle or property damage
- any injuries you sustain in a motor vehicle accident where you were totally at fault
- any injuries you sustain in a motor vehicle accident where no one was at fault (e.g. a single vehicle accident involving only your vehicle).
Queensland has a common law ‘fault-based’ CTP scheme:
This means that an injured person must prove that another driver was at fault in the accident in order to claim compensation through the scheme. This is different from some other states, such as Victoria, which operate ‘no-fault’ schemes.
The scheme supports early access to treatment and rehabilitation:
To assist injured people in their recovery from the effects of their injuries, the scheme supports early access to treatment and rehabilitation. See Standards and guidelines for more information.
Roles
- Private licensed insurers
Private licensed insurers underwrite the CTP insurance policies, meaning they take on the financial risk of claims. - Insurer of last resort
The Nominal Defendant is the insurer of last resort, carrying the risk for unidentified and uninsured (unregistered) vehicles, as well as the costs associated with claims should an insurer become insolvent. - Scheme regulator
The scheme is managed by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission. - Complementary scheme
The scheme is complemented by the National Injury Insurance Scheme, Queensland (NIISQ), which funds necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support for people who have sustained an eligible serious personal injury in a motor vehicle accident in Queensland, on or after 1 July 2016. Vehicle owners in Queensland contribute to the NIISQ through a levy collected by the Department of Transport and Main Roads as part of motor vehicle registration. This levy is included in the total cost of CTP insurance.