After a crash, most people want to know what they can claim. For people in Matraville, as anywhere in NSW, the honest answer has two parts. Statutory benefits, meaning weekly payments and treatment and care, are available to most injured people. Common law damages, a lump sum, are open only to some. Our free claim check looks at which applies to you, and connects you with an independent CTP lawyer if damages may be possible.
Eastern Suburbs · Car accident compensation
Understanding car accident compensation in Matraville
Statutory benefits for most people. Damages for some. Here's how to tell which applies to you.
Postcode: 2036

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Your work, your injury and your claim in Matraville
Whether you commute on Anzac Parade, Southern Cross Drive or New South Head Road, a crash that keeps you from work turns on what you earned before it. Payslips and tax returns from that year are the starting point for any lost-earnings claim. 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 Randwick City Council as in every other council area. Understanding your compensation options doesn't require a trip to Bondi Junction. From Matraville, 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
- Eastern Suburbs
- Postcode
- 2036
- Local government area
- Randwick City Council
- Distance to Bondi Junction
- ~8 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
What damages generally don't include
Common law damages in the NSW CTP scheme generally don't include treatment and care costs, or gratuitous care, which is unpaid care from family and friends. Treatment and care continues through statutory benefits instead, within the limits that apply to you. That's a real difference from some other compensation systems, and it's worth knowing before you estimate anything.
Payments beyond the 104-week mark
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
Payments beyond 104 weeks depend on a damages claim being pending. The 3-year limit is the outer edge for damages, but the 2-year mark is the one that protects weekly payments.
Read next:CTP weekly payments
The two kinds of CTP compensation
A NSW CTP claim can pay two different kinds of compensation. Most injured people get the first. Only some can claim the second. Neither comes with a set figure; what you receive depends on your circumstances.
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.

Free claim check
Could a damages claim be open to you?
Call (02) 7238 7379 or start online. It's free, there's no obligation, and you'll know whether a damages claim may be worth exploring.

Do you need a lawyer to get compensation?
Most people don't need a lawyer just to receive weekly payments. When a lump sum may be involved, it's a different story. Use these lists to get your bearings.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A family member died and dependants may have a claim
- Fault is disputed or shared
- The 2-year mark is close and no damages claim has been lodged
- An offer to settle has come from the insurer
You may not need one
- You've recovered and are back at your usual work
- You were mostly at fault and don't dispute it
- Your injury is a threshold injury and you agree with that
If you speak with a lawyer about damages, ask for a written costs disclosure first. Legal costs in CTP damages claims are capped by regulation, and you're entitled to know how the fees are worked out. What a CTP lawyer costs
Not quite your situation?
- If the real question is how serious your injury is in claim terms, including impairment, the injury compensation page for Matraville explains it. Injury compensation lawyer in Matraville
- 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 Matraville
- If you only need the basics of weekly payments and how to lodge, the CTP claims page for Matraville sets out the steps. CTP claims in Matraville
Why damages take time
If the insurer makes an offer, take your time. Ask what it covers, what it assumes about your future earnings and whether it accounts for all your injuries. An independent CTP lawyer can check it against the evidence. Accepting generally ends your damages claim, so it's worth a careful look before you sign anything.
Before you accept an offer
Settlement offers are worth a second opinion. The lawyer you speak with can check what the offer covers and whether the timing suits your recovery.
Loss of earnings
Lost income is covered at two stages. Weekly payments replace part of your earnings as you go: up to 95% of pre-accident earnings for 13 weeks, then up to 80% or 85%. A damages claim can also include past and future loss of earnings, called economic loss, if you qualify. Economic loss damages don't require impairment above 10%.
- Tax returns and notices of assessment
- Business records if you're self-employed
- Rosters showing regular overtime or shifts
- Your Certificates of Fitness
Read next:CTP weekly payments
Non-economic loss explained
Damages for pain and suffering, called non-economic loss, are only available if your whole person impairment is more than 10%. Below that line, a damages claim, if you have one, is limited to economic loss. This surprises many people, and it's one of the main reasons two claims that look similar can end very differently.
10% or less?
If your whole person impairment is 10% or less, you may still have a damages claim for lost earnings, as long as the other conditions are met.
Why no calculator can give you a figure
Instead of a figure, get clarity on the questions that matter. Is your injury more than threshold? Were you mostly at fault? What did you earn before? Could impairment exceed 10%? Our free claim check works through those questions, and where a damages claim is possible, we'll connect you with an independent lawyer.
Read next:Can I claim damages?
Frequently asked questions
Under the NSW CTP scheme, treatment and care costs, and unpaid help from family and friends (called gratuitous care), generally sit outside a common law damages claim. Treatment and care stays with statutory benefits instead, for as long as the benefit periods that apply to you allow. Damage to your vehicle isn't part of a CTP claim at all, because CTP covers personal injury only.
No one can tell you that without knowing your facts, and we don't publish figures. Compensation depends on your injuries, your pre-accident earnings, whether someone else was at fault, whether your injury is more than a threshold injury, your whole person impairment and your accident date. Most people receive statutory benefits. Some can also claim damages. A free claim check helps you understand which applies to you.
They can. The usual end point is 104 weeks, but a common law damages claim you've lodged that is still pending can extend them: to as long as 156 weeks where whole person impairment is 10% or less, or 260 weeks where it's more than 10%. The extension only works if the damages claim went in within 2 years of the accident, so the timing of your claim matters.
Generally not until 20 months after the accident, unless your whole person impairment is assessed as more than 10%. The claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident. If you want weekly payments to continue beyond 2 years, lodge the damages claim within 2 years of the accident. Because these dates interact, it's worth getting advice well before the 2-year mark.
Not for NSW CTP claims. Compensation depends on facts a calculator can't assess, such as whether your injury is more than threshold, your whole person impairment, your share of fault and your earnings history. Many of those aren't known until well into a claim. Treat any online figure with caution, and focus instead on the questions that decide your entitlements.
Generally from your income before the accident, using payslips, tax returns or business records. Amendments passed in 2022 allow pre-accident earnings to reflect a higher income earned in the 12 months before the accident, and your actual earnings after it are also taken into account. If your income had recently risen, tell the insurer and provide the evidence. Errors here affect every weekly payment.
Car accident compensation: suburbs near Matraville
Related reading
- How much compensation?
- CTP claims for self-employed and gig workers
- Whole person impairment
- Lump sum and damages claims
- Claiming damages
- Chronic Pain After a Car Accident
- Back Injury
- Disc Bulge After a Car Accident
- Pre-Existing Condition Aggravation
- Fatality and Dependency Claims
- Eastern Suburbs: area guide
- CTP Lawyer Help in Sydney
Ready to talk it through?
Get a free, no-obligation claim check. It's the first step toward understanding where your claim stands and what help it needs.
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.