CTP Claim Time Limits in NSW: Every Deadline That Matters

This is general information about accidents under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (accidents on or after 1 December 2017). Some details changed for accidents from 1 April 2023. Time limits apply to your specific facts, so get advice about your own situation, especially if a date is close.

28 days: back-payment of weekly payments

To get weekly payments back-paid to the day after the accident, the insurer generally needs your claim within 28 days of the accident. This is the deadline that most often costs people money, because every week between the accident and a late claim can go unpaid.

3 months: claiming statutory benefits

You can still claim up to 3 months after the accident, but weekly payments may only start from the date of your claim.

For accidents on or after 1 April 2023, if you claim after 28 days but within 3 months, you may still be paid from the day after the accident if you give a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay. If the insurer does not reject your explanation within 14 days, it is treated as accepted.

After 3 months: late claims

Claims made more than 3 months after the accident can only be accepted in limited circumstances, usually where there is a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay. A full and satisfactory explanation generally means a complete, honest account of the reasons for the whole period of delay. Explanations that are sometimes accepted include a long hospital stay, or not realising for some time how serious the injury was, but each case turns on its own facts. If you are outside 3 months, speak to a lawyer straight away.

52 weeks: the end of benefits for some claims

For accidents on or after 1 April 2023, people with a threshold injury can receive statutory benefits for up to 52 weeks. The same 52-week limit generally applies to people who were wholly or mostly at fault. For accidents between 1 December 2017 and 31 March 2023, the limit for minor injuries was generally 26 weeks.

20 months: the earliest damages claim

A damages claim generally can't be made until 20 months after the accident, unless your whole person impairment is assessed as more than 10%. The wait allows the long-term effect of your injuries to become clearer.

2 years: protecting your weekly payments

Weekly payments generally stop after 104 weeks (2 years). They can continue while a damages claim is pending, for up to 156 weeks where whole person impairment is 10% or less, or 260 weeks where it is more than 10%. To keep weekly payments going beyond 2 years, your damages claim generally needs to be lodged within 2 years of the accident.

A damages claim also generally can't be settled within 2 years of the accident unless your whole person impairment is more than 10%.

3 years: the damages claim deadline

A common law damages claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident. Late damages claims are only possible in limited circumstances. Different rules can apply to children and people who lack legal capacity, so get advice in those cases. See CTP damages claims for how the claim itself works.

Review and dispute deadlines

When the insurer makes a decision you disagree with, you can generally ask for an internal review within 28 days of receiving the decision. The insurer usually has 14 days to decide (21 days for some medical and miscellaneous matters, and up to 28 days if it needs more information). Later steps at the Personal Injury Commission have their own limits; for example, a review of a medical assessment certificate must generally be sought within 28 days of the certificate being issued.

Each decision can start its own clock, so read every decision letter the day it arrives. See CTP claim denied.

When to talk to a lawyer

If there is one page on this site where the answer is 'sooner rather than later', it is this one. Our time limits check is a quick first step. Talk to an independent CTP lawyer if:

• You are past 28 days and haven't lodged a claim yet.
• You are past 3 months, or think you have missed any deadline.
• You may have a damages claim and the 2-year date is approaching.
• You have received a decision letter and aren't sure how long you have to respond.