Wollongong & the Illawarra · Car accident compensation

Car accident compensation after a crash near Bulli

Weekly payments, lost earnings, offers and the 10% line, explained for NSW CTP claims.

If you're injured and off work, the compensation question is really a household question: how will the bills get paid? For people in Bulli, statutory benefits usually come first, with weekly payments based on your pre-accident earnings. A damages claim may follow if someone else was at fault and your injury is serious enough. A free claim check tells you where you stand.

Postcode: 2516

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Compensation for people in Bulli

After a crash on Mount Ousley Road or Memorial Drive, you'll hear two terms: economic loss, meaning lost earnings, and non-economic loss, meaning pain and suffering. Only the second depends on impairment being more than 10%. Council boundaries don't change what you can claim. Compensation under the NSW CTP scheme depends on your injury, your earnings and fault, and the same rules apply under Wollongong City Council as in every other council area. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Wollongong. From Bulli, the claim check happens by phone and online, and if a damages claim is possible, the lawyer you speak with can generally advise remotely too.

Region
Wollongong & the Illawarra
Postcode
2516
Local government area
Wollongong City Council
Distance to Wollongong
~10 km

Two kinds of compensation

Think of statutory benefits as the support that keeps you going while you recover, and damages as compensation for what the injury has cost you over the longer term. You can receive benefits without ever claiming damages, and many people do. Damages are a separate claim with their own timing, evidence and rules.

Read next:Statutory benefits vs damages

Non-economic loss explained

Many people assume every injury attracts compensation for pain. In the NSW CTP scheme it doesn't. Non-economic loss damages require whole person impairment of more than 10%, and you still need to meet the other damages conditions: someone else at fault, you not mostly at fault, and more than a threshold injury.

10% or less?

Impairment of 10% or less doesn't end a damages claim. It rules out pain and suffering, but economic loss can still be claimed if you otherwise qualify.

When the injury affects your work

Your pre-accident earnings are the anchor for both weekly payments and economic loss damages. Since amendments passed in 2022, pre-accident earnings can reflect higher income in the 12 months before the accident, and actual earnings after the accident are also considered. If you'd recently had a pay rise, a promotion or more shifts, make sure the insurer knows.

  • Payslips from before the accident
  • Tax returns and notices of assessment
  • Evidence of a recent pay rise or promotion
  • Records of any income since the accident

Read next:CTP weekly payments

Statutory benefits vs common law damages

Here's how the two parts of CTP compensation compare. Statutory benefits start early and are available to most people. Damages come later, if at all, and have stricter entry rules.

Statutory benefits

  • Available to most injured people, regardless of fault
  • Weekly payments: up to 95% of pre-accident earnings, then up to 80% or 85%
  • Treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary
  • Up to 52 weeks for a threshold injury or if mostly at fault (accidents from 1 April 2023)
  • Weekly payments generally end at 104 weeks unless a damages claim is pending
  • Claim within 28 days for back-paid weekly payments

Common law damages

  • Only if another driver was at fault and you weren't mostly at fault
  • Your injury must be more than a threshold injury
  • Can include past and future lost earnings
  • Pain and suffering only if whole person impairment is more than 10%
  • Generally doesn't include treatment and care or unpaid care from family
  • Generally must be claimed within 3 years of the accident

General information, not legal advice. We give no dollar figures because every claim is different. Time limits apply.

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When legal advice changes the picture

Statutory benefits often run without a lawyer. Damages claims usually involve one. These lists show common situations, and your own claim check can confirm where you sit.

Often worth talking to a lawyer

  • An offer to settle has come from the insurer
  • The insurer disputes how serious your injury is
  • Your pre-accident earnings seem to have been set too low
  • Fault is disputed or shared

You may not need one

  • Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that
  • You're receiving weekly payments and they look right
  • You've recovered and are back at your usual work

Damages claims run on a clock. A claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident, and within 2 years if you want weekly payments to continue past that point. CTP claim time limits

Not quite your situation?

  • If your injury is serious and you want to know how impairment is assessed and where the threshold line falls, the injury compensation page covers it. Injury compensation lawyer in Bulli
  • Before asking what you can get, you may need to know what kind of claim you have, and the car accident claim page starts there. Car accident claim in Bulli
  • If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Bulli sets out the steps. CTP claims in Bulli

When weekly payments can run past 2 years

If you're still off work as the 2-year mark approaches, plan early. Weekly payments generally end at 104 weeks unless a damages claim is pending, and only a claim lodged inside the first 2 years keeps them going. Whether you can claim damages at all depends on fault and on your injury being more than threshold, so it's worth getting advice well before month 20.

The 2-year lodging rule

To keep weekly payments going past 2 years, lodge the damages claim within 2 years of the accident. Waiting until the general 3-year limit can mean payments stop in the meantime.

Read next:CTP weekly payments

What damages generally don't include

If a family member has been driving you around or helping at home, you might expect that to be compensated. Under the current NSW scheme, damages generally don't cover that kind of gratuitous care. Nor do they generally cover treatment and care costs, which are handled through statutory benefits. The rules for your accident date are worth checking.

Why damages take time

The timing rules for damages, which generally rule out a claim before 20 months and a settlement within 2 years unless impairment is more than 10%, give injuries time to stabilise before they're valued. A claim resolved too early may not reflect how the injury turns out. That's one reason to get advice before accepting any offer: a settlement generally ends the claim for good, and once it's signed there's usually no going back.

Before you accept an offer

Get advice before accepting any settlement offer. A settlement generally ends your damages claim, and once signed it's usually final.

Read next:CTP settlementsShould I accept the first offer?

Online estimates and their limits

Online compensation calculators can't account for the things that actually decide a CTP claim: whether your injury is more than threshold, who was at fault, your whole person impairment, your earnings history and your accident date. A figure produced without those facts isn't a guide; it's a guess. That's why we don't publish one.

Read next:Can I claim damages?

Frequently asked questions

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CTP Lawyer is not a law firm. This page is general information, not legal advice; the independent lawyer you speak with can advise on your own situation.

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