What Is a CTP Claim? NSW Green Slip Claims Explained

Every registered vehicle in NSW must carry Compulsory Third Party insurance, usually called the green slip. It exists for one reason: to compensate people who are injured, or families who lose someone, in a motor vehicle accident.

A CTP claim is a claim you make against a CTP insurer for injury-related compensation. It is not a claim on your car insurance and it has nothing to do with repairs. If you were hurt as a driver, passenger, rider, cyclist or pedestrian and a motor vehicle was involved, the CTP scheme is usually where your compensation comes from.

Which law applies to your accident

If your accident happened on or after 1 December 2017, your claim is covered by the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW). Accidents before that date fall under the older Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999, which works quite differently.

The 2017 scheme was also changed for accidents from 1 April 2023. Among other things, the term 'minor injury' was replaced with 'threshold injury' and some benefit periods were extended. That is why the date of your accident matters so much: it decides which version of the rules the insurer applies to you.

Who can make a CTP claim

CTP protects far more people than most expect. You may be able to claim if you were injured as:

• A driver, including a driver who caused the accident. If you were wholly or mostly at fault, benefits are generally limited to a set period.
• A passenger in any vehicle, including a car driven by a friend or family member.
• A motorcycle rider or pillion passenger.
• A cyclist or pedestrian hit by a motor vehicle.
• A rideshare, taxi or bus passenger.
• Someone injured while driving for work, although workers compensation generally comes first in that case (see work car accident claims).
• A family member or dependant of someone who died in a motor accident (see fatal accident compensation).

The two parts of CTP compensation

A NSW CTP claim can have two parts, and it helps to keep them separate in your head.

Statutory benefits are paid while you recover: weekly payments if you can't work, and reasonable and necessary treatment and care. Most injured people can claim statutory benefits regardless of who was at fault, at least for an initial period. See CTP entitlements for the detail.

Common law damages are a lump sum paid at the end of a claim. They are only available to some people: generally where another driver was at fault, you were not mostly at fault, and your injury is more than a threshold injury. See CTP damages claims and statutory benefits vs damages.

Who the claim is made against

You claim against the CTP insurer responsible for the accident, usually the insurer of the at-fault vehicle. You don't pay that insurer and you are not suing the other driver personally; the insurer deals with the claim under the scheme rules. The online claim through Service NSW and the SIRA website can help you identify the right insurer.

If the vehicle can't be identified (a hit and run) or wasn't insured, the claim generally goes to the Nominal Defendant, a government-backed insurer of last resort. Extra steps and evidence can apply in those cases, so get advice early.

What CTP does not cover

• Damage to your car or other property. That sits with comprehensive or third-party property insurance.
• Your insurance excess, towing or hire car costs.
• Injuries that did not involve the use or operation of a motor vehicle.
• Pure workplace injuries with no vehicle involved, which belong to workers compensation.

How fault and injury type shape your claim

Two decisions the insurer makes early have a big effect on everything that follows. The first is fault. If you were wholly or mostly at fault, statutory benefits are generally limited to the first 52 weeks and you can't claim damages. See at fault vs not at fault.

The second is whether your injury is a threshold injury, which is generally a soft tissue injury or a threshold psychological injury. For accidents on or after 1 April 2023, threshold injuries attract statutory benefits for up to 52 weeks and no damages claim. If you think that label is wrong, see threshold injury disputes.

Getting the right help

Every CTP claim needs good medical care. Your doctor records your injuries on a Certificate of Fitness and plans your treatment, and physiotherapy, psychology or other allied health may be part of it. What they record is also the evidence your claim runs on. See doctors and allied health.

Legal help is for when your claim calls for it, and many claims never do. The next section covers when it's worth talking to a lawyer.

When to talk to a lawyer

You don't need a lawyer to lodge a CTP claim, and plenty of people with short, straightforward claims never use one. SIRA also funds a free CTP Legal Advisory Service for statutory benefits questions. It is worth talking to an independent CTP claim lawyer if:

• Your injuries are serious, or you have been told they may be permanent.
• The insurer says you were at fault, or mostly at fault, and you disagree.
• Your injury has been classed as a threshold injury and your treating practitioners think it is more than that.
• You are approaching a deadline, or think you may have missed one.
• Someone has died, or the injured person is a child.