The first weeks after a crash are busy, and the CTP claim can slip down the list. It shouldn't. People in Burwood Heights face the same deadlines as everyone in NSW: 28 days for back-paid weekly payments and 3 months to claim at all, with only limited exceptions. We can check where your claim is up to for free, and point you to legal or medical help only where it's actually needed.
Inner West · CTP claims
How to lodge and run a CTP claim in Burwood Heights
The 28-day and 3-month deadlines, the Certificate of Fitness and weekly payments, explained plainly.
Postcode: 2136
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Burwood Heights & Croydon Park
How a CTP claim unfolds over time
A CTP claim runs to a clock that starts on the day of the accident. Here are the main points on it. Some depend on your accident date, so check which rules apply to you.
Day 0
The accident
Get medical help first. Then report the crash to police and note the event number, which the claim form asks for. The other vehicle's registration helps identify the right insurer later.
Within 28 days
Lodge your claim
Lodge your claim for statutory benefits within 28 days of the accident so weekly payments can generally be back-paid to the day after. You can lodge through Service NSW online or with the CTP insurer.
Within 14 days of your explanation
A late claim, explained
For accidents from 1 April 2023, a claim made after 28 days but within 3 months may still be back-paid if you give a full and satisfactory explanation. If the insurer doesn't reject it within 14 days, it's treated as accepted.
Within 3 months
The last point to claim
Claims can still be made up to 3 months after the accident, though weekly payments may then only start from the date of the claim. After 3 months, claims are accepted only in limited circumstances.
Weeks 1–13, then 14+
Weekly payment rates
Weekly payments are up to 95% of your pre-accident earnings for the first 13 weeks. From week 14 they're up to 80% or 85%, depending on your earning capacity. An indexed maximum applies.
52 weeks
The threshold and at-fault line
For accidents from 1 April 2023, statutory benefits for a threshold injury, or where you were wholly or mostly at fault, generally end 52 weeks after the accident. Children 16 and under keep treatment and care as long as needed.
104 weeks
Weekly payments generally end
At the 104-week mark, weekly payments generally end. They can run longer only while a common law damages claim is pending, and how much longer depends on the level of impairment.
General information, not legal advice. Dates depend on your accident date and circumstances. Rules change, so check the current rules.
Lodging the claim: where and how
Before you lodge, report the accident to police if you haven't already. The claim form generally asks for the police event number, and the insurer will usually want to see that the crash was reported. Then complete the form online through Service NSW or with the insurer, attaching your Certificate of Fitness if you already have one.
Not sure which insurer?
CTP Assist, run by SIRA, can help you work out which CTP insurer to claim against. Call 1300 656 919, 8:30am to 5pm weekdays.
Read next:CTP formsThe personal injury claim form
Threshold injuries and your benefit period
Plan around the 52-week mark if it applies to you. Keep your Certificates of Fitness current, keep treatment going as your doctor recommends, and ask the insurer in writing what will happen to payments and treatment when the period ends. If you think the threshold decision itself is wrong, you can ask for an internal review, generally within 28 days of receiving it.
Read next:Threshold vs non-threshold injury
Lodging a claim when you live in Burwood Heights
If you were treated at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital or Concord Repatriation General Hospital, list the hospital and the dates on your claim form. The insurer uses those details to request records, so accuracy now saves delays later. At roughly 10 km from the Sydney CBD, Burwood Heights is no further from the CTP system than anywhere else. The Service NSW claim form is online, insurers work by phone and email, and our claim check is by phone and online.
- Region
- Inner West
- Postcode
- 2136
- Nearest public hospital
- Canterbury Hospital
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~10 km
Free claim check
Lodging soon? Get a free claim check
Lodged or not, a free claim check tells you what to do next. No obligation and no office visit.
Working with the insurer and your case manager
Insurers make decisions under the scheme rules, and your case manager is the person who passes them on. Most contact is routine: updated certificates, treatment approvals, payment questions. Reply promptly, keep copies of what you send, and ask for written reasons for any decision you don't understand. You can challenge decisions if you need to.
- Log every call with the date and the name of the person
- Send updated certificates before the old one runs out
- Reply to requests promptly
What you'll need to lodge
Think of the claim as three bundles of evidence: what happened, what it did to your body, and what it's costing you. The first is police and vehicle details. The second is hospital records and your Certificate of Fitness. The third is proof of earnings and receipts. Lodge on time even if one bundle isn't complete yet.
- Police event number
- Date, time and place of the crash
- Registration numbers of the vehicles involved
- Your employer's name and contact details
- Receipts for treatment, medication and travel
Read next:Checklist: your first 30 days
Why the Certificate of Fitness matters
Ask your GP for a Certificate of Fitness at your first visit after the crash, and keep getting updated ones while you're off work or on reduced hours. Gaps between certificates can cause gaps in payments. If your doctor isn't familiar with CTP forms, a practitioner who knows the scheme can make the process easier.
Read next:The Certificate of Fitness
What the insurer pays for
If the injury affects your work, weekly payments are generally based on your pre-accident earnings, and the percentage steps down after the first 13 weeks. The insurer relies on your earnings records to set the rate and on your Certificate of Fitness to know what work you can do. There's an indexed maximum, and payments generally stop after 104 weeks.
Your CTP insurer covers treatment and care for accident injuries where it's reasonable and necessary, within whatever benefit period applies to you. That can include doctor visits, physiotherapy, medication and some travel for treatment. The insurer decides each request, and decisions can be reviewed, so ask before committing to large treatment costs.
Rules change
Benefit rules depend on your accident date and have changed over time. This is general information; check the current rules or ask CTP Assist.
Read next:CTP weekly paymentsCTP entitlements
When to get more help
Many people lodge and manage a CTP claim on their own. It's worth getting help when the insurer refuses the claim, classifies your injury as threshold when your doctor disagrees, stops payments, or argues about fault. It's also worth asking a lawyer about damages if your injury is more than threshold and someone else was at fault.
Read next:What help do I need?
Lodging alone, or with help?
Lodging a CTP claim is something most people do without any legal help. A few situations change that. Here's a quick guide to which is which.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- The insurer says you were mostly at fault
- Another driver was at fault and your injury is more than threshold
- Your claim went in more than 3 months after the accident
- Your injury has been classed as threshold and your doctor disagrees
You may not need one
- The insurer has accepted your claim
- You're lodging within 28 days with the paperwork ready
- You just need to know which insurer to claim against
Treatment is often the first gap, not legal help. We can connect you with doctors and allied health experienced with CTP claims, from the Certificate of Fitness to physiotherapy and psychology.
Not quite your situation?
- If you're not sure a CTP claim is even the right claim, for example because only your car was damaged, start with the car accident claim page. Car accident claim in Burwood Heights
- If you're weighing up whether your claim needs a lawyer at all, the CTP lawyer page covers when one helps and when it doesn't. CTP lawyer in Burwood Heights
- If the insurer has already refused your claim or cut off payments, the page on denied claims covers the review steps and deadlines. CTP claim denied in Burwood Heights
Frequently asked questions
Usually it's the CTP insurer of the vehicle at fault. If another vehicle caused the crash, that's usually its insurer; if you were at fault, it's usually your own vehicle's. If you're unsure, or several vehicles were involved, CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can help identify the right one. If the vehicle was unidentified or uninsured, the claim goes to the Nominal Defendant, a NSW Government-backed fund that stands in for the missing insurer.
The insurer generally acknowledges the claim, gives you a claim number and assigns a case manager. It may ask for more information, such as payslips or your consent to obtain medical records, and it then decides whether to accept the claim and start weekly payments and treatment approvals. Keep sending updated Certificates of Fitness and answer requests promptly. Decisions should come with reasons, and most can be reviewed if you disagree.
Generally yes, if your doctor says you can. Your Certificate of Fitness records your capacity for work, and weekly payments may be adjusted to take account of what you earn after the accident. Tell the insurer about any work or income straight away. Returning to suitable work, at a pace your doctor supports, is often part of recovery.
The insurer generally pays for treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary for your accident injuries, within the benefit periods that apply to you. That can include some travel to and from treatment. Each request is a decision rather than a given, so check before you commit to large costs and keep every receipt. If a request is declined, you can ask for a review.
Generally up to 104 weeks, or 2 years. For a threshold injury, or if you were wholly or mostly at fault, they generally stop at 52 weeks for accidents from 1 April 2023. Beyond 104 weeks, payments continue only in limited cases where a damages claim is still pending, which how compensation works explains. Keep your Certificates of Fitness current throughout, because gaps can interrupt payments.
No. Most people can lodge a CTP claim themselves, online through Service NSW or with the insurer, and CTP Assist can help with questions for free. A lawyer becomes more useful if the claim is refused, if you're outside the time limits, if the insurer disputes your injury or fault, or if you may have a damages claim. Our free claim check can tell you which applies.
CTP claims: suburbs near Burwood Heights
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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.