Can I claim?

If you cannot identify the vehicle that caused the motor vehicle accident, or if it was not registered or insured, you may still be able to claim. You should lodge your claim against the Nominal Defendant, who acts as the CTP insurer for vehicles that are uninsured or unidentified. It is important for your claim that you make a genuine attempt to identify the vehicle that may have caused the accident prior to contacting the Nominal Defendant.

If a child (someone who is under 18 years of age) is injured in a motor vehicle accident, they may be entitled to compensation under Queensland’s CTP insurance scheme. The steps for submitting a CTP claim for a child are broadly the same as for an adult, but differ in two main ways:

• Litigation guardian: since children cannot make or manage a claim by themselves, a claim for a child must be made by an adult acting for the child, usually: a parent, legal guardian, or another responsible adult approved by the court (if required). This adult acts in the child’s best interests and is commonly referred to as a litigation guardian. The litigation guardian completes and signs claim forms on behalf of the child, communicates with the CTP insurer and makes decisions about the claim, always putting the child’s interests first.
• Timeframes: different timeframes apply. See Timeframes for more information.

For more information see FAQs – Claims involving children (under 18 years).

If you’re injured in a motor vehicle accident outside of Queensland, and a Queensland-registered vehicle may be at fault, the process for making a CTP insurance claim is slightly different:

• Where to claim: you’ll need to follow the CTP insurance claims process for the state or territory where the accident happened. However, the claim should still be lodged with and managed by the Queensland insurer of the vehicle that may have been at fault.
• How to claim: contact the CTP insurance authority in the state or territory where the accident happened for information on their claims process. You can find their details on the Interstate accidents and CTP authorities page.
• Next steps: if you know the registration number of the Queensland-registered vehicle that may have been at fault, and the date of the accident, you can use the Find a vehicle’s CTP insurer tool to identify the insurer. For contact details, see Qld CTP Insurers.

If you’re injured in a motor vehicle accident in Queensland, and the vehicle that may have caused the accident is registered in another state or territory, the process for making a CTP insurance claim is slightly different:

• Where to claim: you’ll need to make your claim under Queensland’s CTP insurance scheme, but your claim will be lodged to and managed by the insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident, in the state or territory where it’s registered.
• How to claim: complete the Queensland Notice of Accident Claim Form. Please note, claims involving interstate insurers must use the PDF version of the form and cannot be lodged through the Queensland CTP portal. For further steps, see Pre-claim checklist.
• Next steps: submit the completed form to the interstate insurer of the at-fault vehicle. For assistance, you can contact the CTP authority in the relevant state or territory. More information is available on the Interstate accidents and CTP authorities page.

CTP insurance does not cover damage to property, such as motor vehicles damaged in accidents.

Property damage is covered by another type of non-compulsory insurance called ‘General insurance.’ For an explanation of the types of general insurance available for motor vehicles, see ‘Choosing car insurance’ on the Money Smart website.

There may be times when a person injured in a motor vehicle accident cannot claim compensation through a CTP insurance claim, including:

• if the injured person was totally at fault, or
• no-one was at fault (e.g., a single vehicle accident involving only your vehicle).

There are strict deadlines for lodging your Notice of Accident Claim Form under the law. If you miss these deadlines, your claim may be rejected. Lodging your claim early can help you access treatment and rehabilitation sooner. See Timeframes for more information.

Please note, if you are submitting a Notice of Accident Claim Form outside of these timeframes, there is a section in the form labelled “Additional information/excuse for delay”.

In this section, you can explain to the insurer why the form is being submitted late and provide details about the circumstances that caused the delay. The insurer will review your explanation and decide whether they consider your reason to be acceptable and advise if they will accept the claim. Please note, this decision is entirely up to the insurer and is made at their discretion.

You can still lodge a claim even if you don’t have all the required information straight away. However, your claim won’t be considered complete (or ‘compliant’) until all the necessary details have been provided. If anything is missing, the insurer will let you know and ask for the extra information.

You can send this through as soon as you have it. Keep in mind that if the missing details aren’t provided on time, your claim may not be accepted, or it could take longer to process.