CTP insurance for motorcyclists

Queenslanders pay for the NIISQ via a levy in conjunction with their CTP premium and registration, which is reviewed annually every 1 July. The review involves a detailed process that factors in the longevity of the scheme, which provides people who sustain eligible serious personal injuries with necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support for their lifetime.

With the frequency of motorcycle riders entering the NIISQ scheme, the levy for this group needed to increase to ensure their recovery is adequately funded.

CTP insurance is compulsory in Queensland because it protects motor vehicle owners, drivers and passengers from being held financially responsible if they injure someone in a motor vehicle accident. It also enables people who are injured to claim fair and timely compensation for their injuries and access prompt and reasonable medical treatment and rehabilitation.

NIISQ 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. Eligible people who access NIISQ have sustained traumatic brain injuries, permanent spinal cord injuries, multiple or high-level limb amputations to the brachial plexus, severe burns and/or permanent blindness caused by trauma. Through the NIISQ levy, which is NIISQ funds necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support for them regardless of who was responsible for the accident that they were injured in.

Serious personal injuries are life-changing and impact not only the injured person but also their family, friends and community. A seriously injured person may require 24-hour per day nursing care assistance, along with significant home modifications and ongoing medical treatment for their lifetime. The cost of treatment, care and support over a person’s lifetime can be millions of dollars. Since its establishment in July 2016, the NIISQ has proven its relevance and importance to Queensland road users through its support of seriously injured people, bringing peace of mind to the injured person, their family and carers.

The Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) funds research and initiatives that aim to reduce the incidence and effects of road trauma. Its purpose is to reduce the cost of CTP insurance premiums, protect people from being injured on Queensland roads, and support their recovery if injuries do occur.

Examples of research we support includes a 25-year partnership with the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety Queensland (CARRS-Q). CARRS-Q was established in 1996 as a joint initiative between MAIC and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and is recognised internationally for delivering an evidence base to support road safety policy in Queensland.

We also founded the Road Safety Research Collaboration (RSRC) with the University of the Sunshine Coast to understand and improve road safety in Queensland. The Road Safety Research Collaboration is becoming increasingly recognised in Queensland for its dynamic, multidisciplinary approach to road safety research. The RSRC’s applied research is uniquely positioned to influence policy as it focuses on ways to target illegal behaviour and high-risk groups.

For motorcycle riders specifically, we support the Motorcycle Clothing Assessment Program (MotoCAP) with a range of stakeholders including Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. Established in 2018, MotoCAP provides independent ratings on the quality of motorcycle protective clothing in order to provide riders with scientifically-based information on the relative protection and breathability on a range of motorcycle protective jackets, pants, gloves and helmets available in Australia and New Zealand. Research confirms that effective protective clothing can reduce the extent of abrasions and lacerations of the skin and soft tissue as well as reduce at least 63% of deep and extensive injuries.

We also continue to work closely with the Department of Transport and Main Roads and the Queensland Police Service as the lead government agencies for road safety on areas of mutual benefit. Active collaborations include the development of a new campaign focused on motorcycles, funding for targeted road safety enforcement and the expansion of automatic number plate recognition technologies to detect unregistered vehicles.

Learn more about the road safety and rehabilitation initiatives we support.

To assist with cost-of-living pressure, you may wish to explore a shorter registration period with more manageable rego payments. Through the Department of Transport and Main Roads website, you can choose to renew your vehicle registration for a 1-month period if enrolled in direct debit. The new registration renewal period complements the existing 3, 6 and 12-month registration periods, and allows you to choose more manageable registration payment amounts.

Queensland’s CTP insurance premium contains levies and an administration fee to help cover the costs involved in delivering important services for Queenslanders. They are calculated annually and include the:

• Statutory Insurance Scheme levy which covers the estimated operating costs of administering the CTP insurance scheme and also provides funding for research into accident prevention and injury mitigation.
• Administration Fee which is payable to the Department of Transport and Main Roads for delivering administrative support for the CTP insurance scheme.
• Hospital and Emergency Services levy which is designed to fund a reasonable portion of the anticipated cost of providing public hospital and emergency services to people who are injured in motor vehicle crashes and who are potential claimants under the Queensland CTP insurance scheme. The levy removes the need for hospitals and emergency services to issue invoices to recoup the costs associated with assisting those injured in motor vehicle crashes. This keeps hospital administration costs low and ensures necessary funding is provided.
• Nominal Defendant levy which covers the estimated costs of the Nominal Defendant scheme which provides funds to pay for claims relating to uninsured (unregistered) or unidentified vehicles.
• National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ) Levy which covers the estimated costs of the NIISQ which provides necessary and reasonable lifetime treatment, care and support for anyone who sustains a serious personal injury in a motor vehicle accident in Queensland. For further information on the NIISQ, please visit the NIISQ website.

The levies and administration fee that form part of CTP insurance premiums fund important services for Queenslanders. They are calculated annually in line with legislation that underpins the CTP insurance and NIISQ scheme. That includes the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 and National Injury Insurance Scheme (Queensland) Act 2016.

In line with legislative requirements, we make a recommendation to the Treasurer by the end of February each year about the levies and administration fee that should apply.

In making that recommendation, we consider:

• submissions from Queensland Health, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Queensland Police Service, the National Injury Insurance Agency Queensland and the Department of Transport (DTMR) and Main Roads
• actuarial advice provided by the State Actuary’s Office and the NIISQ Actuary
• current projections of motor vehicle growth
• the forecast inflation rate
• the main objects of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 including keeping the costs of CTP insurance at a level the average motorist can afford
• any adjustments that may be required to meet requirements of DTMR’s registration system and Queensland Treasury rounding principles.

Once our recommendation is approved, the amounts for each levy and the administration fee are then fixed by regulation by 31 March of each year.

The levies and fee are then collected as part of the CTP insurance premium when vehicle registration is paid. They are then paid to the agency administering each component to ensure that important services are funded efficiently.

The NIISQ levy for a class 12 motorcycle is $238.20 for a 12-month period and for class 13 it is $237.80. Based on claims and injury data, the levy for Class 12 was adjusted to a level similar to class 13. That is because both single-seat motorcycles and two-seat motorcycles are overrepresented in the NIISQ scheme, so the levy was adjusted to ensure their lifetime treatment care and support is adequately funded.

There are a number of reasons why CTP insurance is linked to the motor vehicle and not the driver.

It would significantly increase the costs for families sharing a single vehicle if all potential drivers were required to pay a separate and individual payment for CTP coverage.

Also, the policy coverage for your vehicle is Australia-wide. All states and territories in Australia operate in a similar way by linking their CTP insurance with a registered motor vehicle. If Queensland was to link CTP to drivers and not the vehicle, there would be gaps in cover. For example, a New South Wales driver in a Queensland registered vehicle would not be protected by either state’s CTP insurance arrangements for any injury they caused to another person.

CTP insurance provides motor vehicle owners (and anyone who drivers their registered vehicle) with an insurance policy that covers their unlimited liability for personal injury caused by, through or in connection with the use of the motor vehicle. If CTP cover applied only to the driver, again there would be gaps in coverage exposing other parties who may cause an accident in relation to the vehicle.

Also, if the costs were spread evenly across all licence holders (if all drivers paid one fee, regardless of what vehicle they were using), it might result in owners of ordinary vehicles (e.g. Class 1 sedans and station wagons) subsidising the cost of CTP for drivers of higher-risk vehicles (e.g. taxis and heavy vehicles).