Most CTP claims begin the same way: an accident, a visit to the doctor and a form. What happens next depends on your injury, your work and the insurer's decisions. This guide explains each stage for people in Scone, with honest notes on when you can manage alone and when it's worth getting help from a lawyer, a doctor or allied health.
Newcastle & the Hunter · CTP claims
Your CTP claim from Scone: forms, dates, payments
Most people can lodge a CTP claim themselves. We'll check yours for free and flag anything that needs more help.
Postcode: 2337
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- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Scone & Aberdeen
Your first months: the CTP claim timeline
These are the dates that shape most statutory benefits claims in NSW. Missing an early one can cost weeks of payments, so it helps to know them before you need them.
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
For the first 13 weeks, payments are up to 95% of what you earned before the accident. After week 13 the rate becomes up to 80% or 85%; your earning capacity decides which. A legislated 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
Two years in, weekly payments generally stop unless you've lodged a damages claim that's still pending. To keep them going past 2 years, that damages claim must be lodged within 2 years of the accident.
General information, not legal advice. Dates depend on your accident date and circumstances. Rules change, so check the current rules.
Getting your claim in
You can lodge a claim for statutory benefits online through Service NSW, or directly with the relevant CTP insurer. If you're not sure which insurer that is, CTP Assist (1300 656 919) can help you identify it. The form asks about the accident, your injuries, your work and the treatment you've had so far, so have those details close by.
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
Why the Certificate of Fitness matters
The Certificate of Fitness is where your medical story meets the insurer. It lists your injuries and says what work, if any, you can do. If a certificate misses an injury or overstates your capacity, weekly payments may not reflect your situation, so read each one before it goes to the insurer and raise anything wrong with your doctor.
Read next:The Certificate of Fitness
Scone: treatment, paperwork and your claim
Whether John Hunter Hospital, Maitland Hospital or a district hospital treated you, the next step is usually your GP and a Certificate of Fitness. Lodging within 28 days of the crash means weekly payments can be back-paid. Lodging a claim doesn't mean a trip to Cessnock, 98 km away. From Scone, the claim form can be completed online, most insurer contact happens by phone and email, and our free claim check works the same way.
- Region
- Newcastle & the Hunter
- Postcode
- 2337
- Nearest public hospital
- Scott Memorial Hospital
- Distance to Cessnock
- ~98 km
Free claim check
Not sure your claim is on track?
Lodged or not, a free claim check tells you what to do next. No obligation and no office visit.
What you'll need to lodge
You don't need a perfect file to lodge. Start with the basics you have, then add documents as they arrive. Insurers generally ask for more information later, and it's better to lodge within 28 days with a gap in the paperwork than to wait for every page and lose back-pay.
- Police event number
- Registration numbers of the vehicles involved
- Your Certificate of Fitness
- Receipts for treatment, medication and travel
- Names and numbers of any witnesses
Read next:Checklist: your first 30 days
The 52-week limit and who it applies to
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
Dealing with the insurer day to day
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
- Keep copies of everything you send
- Note the date on any decision letter
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.
Treatment and care is the other half of statutory benefits. The insurer generally funds treatment for your injuries, such as GP care, physiotherapy or psychology, where it's reasonable and necessary and within your benefit period. Approval isn't automatic: your practitioner usually requests it, the insurer decides, and you can ask for a review if you disagree.
Rules change
The scheme has changed more than once since 2017. What applies to you depends on your accident date, so check the current rules before relying on any detail.
Read next:CTP weekly paymentsCTP entitlements
Signs your claim needs more than a form
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?
Do you need a lawyer to make a CTP claim?
Plenty of claims run from start to finish without legal help. A few need it early. If you recognise your situation below, you'll have a fair idea where you stand.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- The insurer says you were mostly at fault
- Someone died in the crash
- 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
- Your weekly payments arrive on time and the amount looks correct
- Your injury is healing well within the first months
- Your treatment requests are being approved
A claim runs on medical evidence. If you don't yet have a GP who'll complete a Certificate of Fitness, we can point you to doctors and allied health who know the CTP scheme.
Not quite your situation?
- If you're still working out what kind of claim you have after the crash, the car accident claim page for Scone sorts that out first. Car accident claim in Scone
- If your main question is whether to bring in a lawyer, the CTP lawyer page for Scone explains when legal help is worth it. CTP lawyer in Scone
- 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 Scone
Frequently asked questions
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.
Most people use the Service NSW online form, and you can also lodge directly with the relevant CTP insurer. The form asks about the accident, the police event number, your injuries and treatment, and your work and income. Attach a Certificate of Fitness from your doctor if you have one. Aim to have the claim in within 28 days of the accident, so weekly payments can generally be back-paid to the day after it.
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.
A CTP claim pays statutory benefits as you go, and most injured people can claim them regardless of who was at fault. They include weekly payments if you can't work, or can't work as much, and treatment and care that is reasonable and necessary for your injuries. How long they last depends on your injury, your share of fault and your accident date. CTP covers people, not vehicles, so car repairs are a separate matter.
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.
They're a percentage of your pre-accident earnings: up to 95% for the first 13 weeks, then up to 80% or 85% from week 14, depending on your earning capacity. They're subject to a legislated maximum weekly amount that is indexed each year, which is why we don't quote a dollar figure. The insurer works out your rate from your earnings information, so make sure it has the full picture.
CTP claims: suburbs near Scone
Related reading
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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.