When a CTP insurer refuses a claim or stops payments, the decision letter generally sets out its reasons. Those reasons are your starting point. For people in Wagga Wagga, the next step is usually an internal review, then the Personal Injury Commission if needed. We can check your situation for free and, if your dispute calls for one, put you in touch with an independent CTP lawyer.
Riverina & Murray · CTP claim denied
CTP claim denied? Help for people in Wagga Wagga
Calm, clear steps for a refused claim, stopped payments or a threshold decision you disagree with.
Postcode: 2650
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- Helping people in Wagga Wagga & Kooringal
How to challenge a CTP decision, step by step
Insurers make decisions under the scheme rules, and the scheme also sets out how to challenge them. These are the main steps and the timeframes that generally apply.
Step 1
Read the decision letter
Read the letter twice: once for what was decided, once for why. Write down the date you received it. If the reasons aren't clear, ask the insurer to explain them in writing.
Within 28 days
Ask for an internal review
Request the review in writing, inside the 28-day window that generally applies. The insurer looks at the decision again, so explain clearly why you think it's wrong and attach anything it didn't have.
14 to 28 days
The insurer decides
The insurer usually has 14 days to decide the review. For some medical and miscellaneous matters it's 21 days, and up to 28 days if it needs more information from you.
If you still disagree
Apply to the Personal Injury Commission
If the internal review doesn't resolve things, you can generally apply to the Personal Injury Commission. It's independent of the insurer and decides disputes under the scheme rules.
28 days from a certificate
Medical assessment review
Medical assessment certificates can generally be reviewed, but the window is short: generally 28 days from the date the certificate is issued. Get advice quickly if you're considering it.
Any time
Conduct complaints go to the IRO
If your concern is how the insurer has treated you, such as delays or poor communication, that's a complaint, not a dispute. The Independent Review Office handles those complaints on 13 94 76.
General information, not legal advice. Timeframes are general, and some decisions follow different rules. Check your decision letter and get advice quickly.
What a review looks like from Wagga Wagga
If the insurer says the crash was on the Victorian side of the Murray, check the location. Victoria has its own scheme, and whether NSW review rights apply depends on where it happened. At around 380 km from the Sydney CBD, living in Wagga Wagga is no disadvantage in a dispute. Review requests generally go in writing, many Personal Injury Commission steps can happen by phone or online, and our claim check works the same way. Your review rights don't depend on your council, whether that's Wagga Wagga City Council or any other. Internal reviews and the Personal Injury Commission work the same way across NSW.
- Region
- Riverina & Murray
- Postcode
- 2650
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~380 km
- Local government area
- Wagga Wagga City Council
Most decisions can be challenged
Insurers make decisions under the scheme rules: whether to accept a claim, how much to pay, what treatment to fund, whether an injury is threshold. Most of them can be challenged. The first step is an internal review, which you generally need to request within 28 days of the decision reaching you. If that doesn't resolve it, the Personal Injury Commission can decide.
Read next:CTP claim denied?
Medical and threshold disputes
Medical disputes often come down to evidence. If the insurer says your injury is threshold, or that treatment isn't reasonable and necessary, the answer is usually a clear report from your treating doctor or specialist explaining the diagnosis and the need. If the dispute reaches medical assessment at the Commission, a certificate review must generally be sought within 28 days of issue.
Read next:Threshold injury disputesWhen the insurer says “threshold injury”
Complaints versus disputes
It helps to keep a dispute and a complaint apart. If the problem is the outcome, use internal review and then the Personal Injury Commission. If the problem is the way the insurer is handling your claim, the Independent Review Office can take a complaint. Sometimes both apply, and it's fine to use each path for a different part of the problem.
Free claim check
Don't let the 28 days slip by
A free, no-obligation claim check by phone or online. We'll look at the decision and the deadline, and connect you with an independent lawyer if needed.
Do you need a lawyer to challenge a decision?
Whether you need a lawyer depends on what was decided and what's at stake. Use these lists to get a sense of it, then get a free claim check for your own situation.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- You've missed the review deadline
- The dispute is heading to the Personal Injury Commission
- Your injury was classed as threshold and it affects a damages claim
- You were driving for work and the insurer has refused on that basis
You may not need one
- A treatment request was declined for lack of information you can supply
- The insurer asked for a document you can easily provide
- You agree with the decision once it's explained
When treatment is declined, the fix is often a clearer explanation of why it's needed. We can connect you with doctors and allied health who know how the scheme assesses requests and what a Certificate of Fitness should record.
Not quite your situation?
- If you're not sure a dispute is worth taking on with legal help, the CTP lawyer page explains when a lawyer tends to be worth it. CTP lawyer in Wagga Wagga
- If the dispute turns on whether your injury is more than threshold, the injury compensation page explains what the medical evidence needs to show. Injury compensation lawyer in Wagga Wagga
- If you haven't had a decision yet and are still getting the claim in, start with the CTP claims page for Wagga Wagga. CTP claims in Wagga Wagga
Making your internal review count
A good review request is short and specific. Quote the decision and its date. Explain in plain terms where you think the insurer got it wrong, with reference to the evidence. If there's something the insurer didn't have, such as a specialist report, include it. Keep a copy and note when you sent it.
Don't wait until the last days of the window to start. Specialist reports and records can take time to arrive, and a rushed request is usually weaker. If some evidence won't be ready in time, lodge the request within the deadline anyway and tell the insurer what else is on its way.
The 28-day window
The clock generally runs for 28 days from the day the decision reached you. Note the date the letter arrived, not just the date printed on it.
Read next:Insurer stopped my weekly payments
Decisions people often ask about
Not every decision is a flat refusal. Sometimes the claim is accepted but limited: benefits capped at 52 weeks, weekly payments set lower than you expected, or a particular treatment declined. These partial decisions can matter as much as a refusal over time, and most can be reviewed in the same way.
- The crash is being treated as a work injury
- Weekly payments were stopped or reduced
- Your pre-accident earnings were set lower than you expected
- The insurer says the injury wasn't caused by the crash
Read next:Claim denied? Quick check
Taking a dispute further
Applying to the Commission is more formal than an internal review. There are forms, timeframes and evidence rules, and the insurer will usually have its own representatives. Many people get legal advice at this stage. Keep in mind that SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service doesn't cover matters already at the Commission.
Read next:The Personal Injury CommissionPIC disputes explained
Paying for help with a review
Free help is limited once a dispute is under way. The CTP Legal Advisory Service that SIRA funds stops short of matters already at internal review or before the Personal Injury Commission. CTP Assist can still give general information. For advice on the dispute itself, you'll generally need an independent lawyer.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
Frequently asked questions
Usually 14 days from your request. Some medical and miscellaneous matters give the insurer 21 days, and it can take up to 28 days where it needs more information from you. If you haven't heard within those times, follow up in writing. If the delay itself is the problem, you can also complain to the Independent Review Office.
The Independent Review Office (IRO) takes complaints about how CTP insurers behave: call 13 94 76, 8:30am to 5:30pm weekdays, or go to iro.nsw.gov.au. Typical complaints are delays, poor communication or requests that go unanswered. A complaint is different from a dispute about a decision, which goes through internal review and the Personal Injury Commission.
First, check the letter for the reason. Payments may stop because the insurer says you can work, because your benefit period has ended, or for another reason under the scheme rules. If you disagree, ask for an internal review, generally within 28 days. Keep your Certificates of Fitness up to date in the meantime, and get advice if you can't work.
Insurers make decisions under the scheme rules, and a refusal usually points to one of them. Common grounds include a claim lodged late, an injury classed as threshold, a finding that you were mostly at fault, or a view that the crash falls under a different scheme. The decision letter should give reasons, and those reasons tell you what evidence might change the outcome.
Generally yes. If your dispute went to medical assessment at the Personal Injury Commission and you think the certificate is wrong, you can seek a review, but it must generally be sought within 28 days of the certificate being issued. The grounds for a review are generally limited, so it's worth getting advice quickly about whether a review is likely to be accepted.
Not necessarily, but act now. Some decisions may still be open to challenge, and the rules can depend on the type of decision and your circumstances. Speak to a lawyer as soon as you can, and gather anything that explains the delay, such as a hospital stay or not receiving the letter. Don't assume the door is closed without checking.
CTP claim denied: suburbs near Wagga Wagga
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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.