You don't need a lawyer to lodge a CTP claim, and many people never use one. What helps most is having the police event number, a Certificate of Fitness from your doctor, your earnings details and the insurer's name. If you're in Wilberforce and unsure where to start, our free claim check walks you through it and flags anything that may need more than a form.
Hawkesbury · CTP claims
A plain guide to CTP claims for Wilberforce
Most people can lodge a CTP claim themselves. We'll check yours for free and flag anything that needs more help.
Postcode: 2756
- Free claim check, no obligation
- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Wilberforce & Pitt Town
Key dates in a NSW CTP claim
From the day of the crash to the two-year mark, this is how a typical claim for statutory benefits is timed. Your own claim may differ, especially if the insurer disputes something.
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
At 52 weeks, people with a threshold injury, and people wholly or mostly at fault, generally stop receiving weekly payments and treatment and care. For accidents between 1 December 2017 and 31 March 2023, that limit was 26 weeks.
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 your claim: the practical steps
Lodging is mostly a matter of answering the form honestly and completely. Describe every injury you know about, even ones that seem small, and list each practitioner you've seen. If you're unsure of an answer, give the most accurate answer you can and say so, rather than leaving it blank. The insurer can ask follow-up questions, and it generally will, so a clear first account saves trouble later.
Not sure which insurer?
If more than one vehicle was involved, or you don't have the other driver's details, CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can help identify the right insurer.
Read next:CTP formsThe personal injury claim form
Your claim paperwork checklist
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
- Date, time and place of the crash
- Your Certificate of Fitness
- Your employer's name and contact details
- Names and numbers of any witnesses
Read next:Checklist: your first 30 days
What people in Wilberforce need to lodge a claim
If Hawkesbury District Health Service or Nepean Hospital treated you, keep the discharge papers with your police event number. Those two documents answer most of the early questions on a claim form. At roughly 48 km from the Sydney CBD, Wilberforce 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
- Hawkesbury
- Postcode
- 2756
- Nearest public hospital
- Hawkesbury District Health Service
- Distance to Windsor
- ~6 km
Free claim check
Check your claim before the deadline
Tell us where your claim is up to. The check is free, there's no obligation, and it's all by phone or online.
Working with the insurer and your case manager
Your case manager will ask for updated Certificates of Fitness, may request medical reports and may arrange an assessment with a doctor the insurer chooses. Attend any assessment you're asked to, and keep your own notes afterwards. If you think a decision is wrong, ask for an internal review rather than letting it sit.
- Ask for important decisions in writing
- Keep copies of everything you send
- Reply to requests promptly
What the insurer pays for
Income support is the part of a CTP claim most people ask about first. The insurer can only pay the right amount if it knows what you earned before the accident and what you can earn now, so send your earnings records early and tell it about any return to work. A maximum weekly amount applies and is indexed every year, so check the current figure with the insurer rather than relying on an old one.
Keep in mind that treatment funding is a decision, not a given. Your treating team sends requests, and the insurer considers whether the treatment is reasonable and necessary. Keep receipts for anything you pay yourself. If a request is declined, you can ask for an internal review, generally within 28 days of receiving the decision.
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
The Certificate of Fitness
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
When the 52-week limit applies
Some claims are capped at 52 weeks. For accidents on or after 1 April 2023, people whose injury is classed as a threshold injury can receive weekly payments and treatment and care for up to 52 weeks after the accident. The threshold label replaced the older term “minor injury” on that date. Whether an injury is threshold is a medical question in its own right; for running the claim, the point is the time limit it sets.
Read next:Threshold vs non-threshold injury
Help beyond lodging
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?
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's reasons for a decision don't make sense to you
- Your claim went in more than 3 months after the accident
- Weekly payments stopped earlier than you expected
- The insurer says you were mostly at fault
You may not need one
- Your weekly payments arrive on time and the amount looks correct
- You need help understanding a question on the form
- The insurer has accepted your claim
If your claim is stuck because the paperwork from your treating team is thin, doctors and allied health familiar with CTP claims can help with a clear Certificate of Fitness, records and treatment plans.
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 Wilberforce
- 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 Wilberforce
- If a decision has already gone against you, the claim denied page explains internal review and what comes after it. CTP claim denied in Wilberforce
Frequently asked questions
A case manager is usually your main contact at the insurer. They handle your weekly payments, treatment requests and updated certificates, and they pass on the insurer's decisions. Keep a note of each conversation and ask for important decisions in writing. If you disagree with a decision, you can ask for an internal review, generally within 28 days.
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.
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.
Yes. A claim made within 3 months of the accident is still possible, but weekly payments may then run only from the date you claimed. For accidents from 1 April 2023, if you give a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay, you may still be paid from the day after the accident. An explanation the insurer doesn't reject within 14 days is treated as accepted.
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.
A parent or guardian can generally make the claim on the child's behalf, using the same claim form. Aim for the same 28-day mark, and keep the hospital and GP records together. Whoever was at fault, a child who was 16 or under when the accident happened can keep receiving treatment and care for as long as it's needed. If an older child had a job at the time, tell the insurer, because lost earnings may also be part of the claim.
CTP claims: suburbs near Wilberforce
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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.