Before you start
- Not sure if you can make a Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance claim? See Can I claim? for more information.
- Know your role and responsibilities as a claimant. See Roles and responsibilities for more information.
To complete the Notice of Accident Claim Form, you’ll need to provide certain documents and information to support your claim. This might include gathering specific details, visiting places, or having forms signed and completed by others. Below is a summary of what you’ll need to have ready to complete your Notice of Accident Claim Form.
You can submit a Notice of Accident Claim Form even if you don’t have all the required information straight away. However, your claim won’t be considered ‘compliant’ (lodged correctly) until you provide all the necessary information and supporting documents. The insurer will contact you to request any missing information, or you can send it as soon as it’s available. Keep in mind that delays in processing your claim may happen if the requested information isn’t provided or is sent late.
There are strict legal deadlines for lodging your Notice of Accident Claim Form. If you miss these deadlines, your claim may be rejected. For information on timeframes see Timeframes.
Claims involving children (under 18 years)
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 lodging 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 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).
What to prepare before submitting your claim
To make a Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance claim, you must report the motor vehicle accident that caused your injuries to police.
Once you have reported the accident to police, you should receive a traffic incident number (sometimes referred to as a QPrime number or QP number). The QP number is an identification number given to a motor vehicle accident report. If you have not received the QP number from police, you may need to visit a police station.
If you are a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident where someone was injured, you must report the accident to police. If you are provided with a QP number, please note this down to add to the Notice of Accident Claim Form. If police attended the accident, but you did not receive a QP number, visit a Queensland police station to request the number.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident and wish to lodge a CTP insurance claim, but the accident is not yet reported, or a QP number was not issued:
- complete a Report of Traffic Incident to Police Form and take it to a police station. You may wish to retain a copy of this completed form
- report the crash to a police station, not to Policelink, so that you get the QP number to add to the Notice of Accident Claim Form.
With some accidents, it may be difficult to obtain a QP number. In this case, speak with the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident to discuss your options.
If you’re injured in a motor vehicle accident, you need to submit a Notice of Accident Claim Form to the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident.
To do this, you’ll need the registration number of the vehicles involved to find out their CTP insurers. If the vehicle was registered outside of Queensland, is unregistered, or can’t be found, there are still options available to make a claim.
To find out which CTP insurer to lodge your claim with, you will need the registration number of the vehicle that you believe is partially or fully responsible for the motor vehicle accident.
If multiple vehicles were involved in the accident, you will need to obtain their registration numbers too.
If the motor vehicle that may have caused the accident was registered in Queensland, you have the vehicle’s registration number, and the date of the accident, you can use the Find a vehicle’s CTP insurer tool.
Motor vehicle that may have caused the accident was registered outside of Queensland, or the accident happened outside of Queensland
If the motor vehicle that may have caused the accident was registered outside of Queensland, or the accident happened outside of Queensland, you will need to speak with the CTP scheme authority for that state or territory — see Interstate accidents and CTP authorities for information.
At fault vehicle unidentified or unregistered
If the motor vehicle that may have caused the accident cannot be identified or is unregistered (and therefore not insured), you can still lodge your claim against the Nominal Defendant. It is important for your claim that you make a genuine attempt to identify the vehicle that may have been at fault prior to contacting the Nominal Defendant. For Nominal Defendant claims, you follow a similar process, but shorter timeframes may apply. See Can I claim? for more information on timeframes.
If you don’t have details of the vehicle that may have caused the accident, please contact us for assistance.
Before submitting your Notice of Accident Claim Form, you will need to go to a doctor to get a CTP insurance medical certificate.
Medical certificates provide details about your injury, its effects and proposed treatments. This helps your insurer understand your injury, assess its impact, and decide on funding for treatment and rehabilitation.
This is not the same as a general fitness for work certificate that you would present to your employer. Instead, the CTP insurance medical certificate is a specific form that is needed to support your CTP claim. Your doctor may bulk bill the appointment or you may get money back through Medicare to assist with the cost.
What an insurer may reimburse under a CTP insurance claim depends on your personal situation. If you’re unsure whether a specific cost can be reimbursed, it’s best to contact the CTP insurer managing your claim or your lawyer (if you have one) for guidance. CTP claims for insurer-funded treatment, rehabilitation, and compensation for injuries need a CTP insurance medical certificate completed by a doctor, submitted as part of the Notice of Accident Claim Form.
How to get a CTP insurance medical certificate
To get a CTP insurance medical certificate, schedule an appointment in-person with a doctor. They will physically examine you, then complete the CTP insurance medical certificate, which includes details about your injuries including effects, and any necessary treatment.
If your doctor examines you and completes the medical certificate during a consultation, they may bulk bill or charge a consultation fee, which may be included as part of your CTP claim (keep all receipts).
If the doctor only completes the certificate without providing any treatment (because the physical examination has already occurred), they may still charge a fee. What an insurer may reimburse under a CTP insurance claim depends on your personal situation. It’s best to contact the CTP insurer managing your claim or your lawyer (if you have one) for guidance.
See About legal advice – Legal costs and disbursements for more information. If you are unable to access a doctor due to your location or financial reasons, contact the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident as they may be able to assist.
Ensure CTP insurance medical certificates are complete and correct
If information supplied on a CTP insurance medical certificate is not clear, or the certificate is not complete, the CTP insurer may need to follow up, which can delay your claim from progressing.
Please ensure completed medical certificates include the following:
- a declaration of whether the doctor physically examined the injured person, with the date of the examination clearly stated
- a declaration of whether the injured person was an existing patient of the doctor at the time of the motor vehicle accident
- a declaration relating to the injuries being consistent with the circumstances of the accident
- the doctor’s Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registration number
- the doctor’s initials at the bottom of the first page and their signature at the end of the second page, in the designated areas.
If you are over the age of 15, you need to include a certified colour copy of an identity document with your Notice of Accident Claim Form.
This must be a government-issued document with your photo, such as a passport or driver’s licence. If you don’t have an identity document, you can provide a colour copy of a photo of you taken within the last two years and certified by someone who has known you for at least one year.
If you are 15 years old, or older, please provide a colour copy of a government-issued ID with your photo, such as a driver’s licence or passport. This copy must be certified as a true copy by a lawyer, Notary Public, Commissioner for Declarations (Cdec), or Justice of the Peace (JP). You can find more information about JPs and Cdecs or find one near you online.
If you are 15 or older and don’t have this type of ID, that’s okay. Instead, provide a colour copy of a colour, passport-sized photo of yourself taken in the last two years. The photo should be good quality, and clearly show your full face, head, and shoulders. Please have the photo certified by someone who has known you for at least one year. To certify the photo, this person will need to write below the photo: ‘This is a true photograph of (your name)’ and include their full name, the date, and their signature.
Please note: For claims involving children aged 15 to 17 years, identity documents for the child must be submitted with the Notice of Accident Claim Form as outlined above. For claims involving children under 15 years of age, the litigation guardian acting on the child’s behalf may be asked to provide proof of identity documents for themselves, along with the Notice of Accident Claim Form. For more information see FAQs – Claims involving children (under 18 years).
If you are unsure about which proof of identity documents are needed for a claim, please contact the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident or consult your lawyer (if you have one).
To support your CTP insurance claim, you can attach extra documents.
If you have any other documents to support your claim, you may wish to get them ready to attach to your claim form. This may include things like letters from your employer or treatment provider, tax statements, receipts for treatment and rehabilitation, and photos.
If you need more space to provide information, you can attach additional pages to your claim form.
For people who have lost a family member
If you have lost a family member in a motor vehicle accident in Queensland caused by another driver or rider, to make a claim, you will need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate and a copy of your marriage certificate (if applicable) with the Notice of Accident Claim Form.
To get a document certified, take the original document and a photocopy to a lawyer, Notary Public, Commissioner for Declarations (Cdec), or Justice of the Peace (JP). They will check that the photocopy matches the original and then stamp or sign it to confirm it’s a true copy. You can find more information about JPs and Cdecs or find one near you online.
For more information, view our Physical signing and witnessing fact sheet.
If you have a lawyer helping with your claim, they must complete a Law Practice Certificate. If you don’t have a lawyer, you don’t need to worry about this.
The Law Practice Certificate shows they haven’t been involved in claim farming (scams where people are pressured into making claims), and that their fees follow the rules. See Car crash scams (claims farming) for more information.
If they don’t complete this, they could face penalties or lose their right to charge fees.
Your lawyer will handle this and provide the certificate to you and the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurer at the right stages of your claim. For more information, visit Law Practice Certificates.
Sign Notice of Accident Claim Form with witness
Please note that both the .PDF and Queensland CTP portal versions of the Notice of Accident Claim Form, as well as the Claimant Certificate, are required to be verified by statutory declaration. This means you must declare that the contents of the form are true and correct in the presence of an ‘eligible witness’.
This requires you to print the completed forms and have your signature witnessed in-person by an eligible witness. For more information, see our Physical signing and witnessing fact sheet.
If required, you can direct someone to sign the statutory declaration for you. This person is called a ‘substitute signatory’. For more information on who can be a substitute signatory and how it must be signed and witnessed, see the Substitute signatory fact sheet.
You need to complete a Claimant certificate which is part of the Notice of Accident Claim Form.
The Claimant certificate is a legal document where you confirm key details about your claim. This includes whether you are making the claim voluntarily, if anyone cold called or approached you (either by telephone, mail, email or in person) and pressured you into making the claim, and/or whether you believe your lawyer has paid someone for referring your claim to them or received payment for a claim referral.
This is known as ‘car crash scamming’ or ‘claim farming.’ In Queensland, it is an offence for those people who have contacted you and for legal practitioners to engage in claim farming. By signing the Claimant certificate, you are protecting your right to make your own decisions about claiming and choosing a lawyer, without harassment or coercion. You are also helping MAIC detect claim farming.
Every person who makes a CTP insurance claim must complete a Claimant certificate which is part of the Notice of Accident Claim Form.
The Claimant certificate requires you to state:
- that you are making the claim on your own initiative
- whether you were contacted by another person who pressured or induced you into making a CTP insurance claim
- if you are legally represented, whether you are aware of the law practice that represents you paying a fee (or giving a gift or other benefit) to another person for your claim referral to that law practice.
When making your CTP insurance claim, you can choose to hire a lawyer to help you, or you can deal directly with the insurer yourself. It is not acceptable for someone to pressure you or harass you into bringing a claim.
If you have been approached or contacted by someone and pressured into making a CTP insurance claim, you can Report a car crash scammer.
If you are worried that your lawyer may have paid someone for your referral, please contact us.
For further information visit CTP insurance fraud and scams.
When you sign the Notice of Accident Claim Form, you allow the CTP insurer to access information about you that may affect your claim, like records from doctors, hospitals, or employers. The insurer must share any information they collect with you or your lawyer.
When you sign the Notice of Accident Claim Form, you give permission for the CTP insurer to access records or information that may affect your claim. This includes details about your circumstances before the accident. The insurer can request information from various sources, such as doctors, hospitals, emergency services, employers, educational institutions, and other insurers like WorkCover Queensland.
By signing the form, you authorise these organisations to share relevant information with the CTP insurer.
The CTP insurer is required to provide you or your lawyer with a copy of any information they obtain under this authority. For a full list of organisations that may share your personal information, refer to the Notice of Accident Claim Form.
Do you have a question?
Visit our FAQs.