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Car accident compensation in Australia, by state

Every Australian state and territory has its own car accident compensation scheme. CTP (Compulsory Third Party) covers personal injury in NSW, QLD, WA and SA. Victoria runs the no-fault TAC scheme. Tasmania has MAIB; the Northern Territory MAC; the ACT a hybrid Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) scheme. The state where the accident happened determines the scheme - not where you live or where the at-fault driver is from.

Across all schemes, payouts cover three broad categories: weekly income support while you can’t work, treatment and rehabilitation costs, and (in fault-based or threshold-met cases) lump-sum damages for permanent injury. Catastrophic injury claimants - spinal cord, severe brain injury, multiple amputation - are usually moved into a separate Lifetime Care scheme that funds care, equipment and accommodation for life.

Time limits are tight and vary by state: NSW CTP claims must be lodged within 3 months; QLD has a 9-month / 1-month rule; Victoria's TAC requires notification within 12 months; WA's ICWA has a 3-year limit. Lodging late doesn't always extinguish the claim, but it shrinks options and costs you backdated benefits.

Real published car accident settlements

Actual settlements published in Australian plaintiff law firm case-results listings (firm names redacted; case facts and amounts as published). Case ranges below illustrate the spread by injury severity and jurisdiction.

• NSW intersection collision, neck and shoulder injuries: $374,910 (2015) - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• NSW rear-end collision, soft-tissue and pain & suffering: $403,758 (2016) - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• Victoria head-on collision, passenger: $240,000 (2018) - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• Victoria neck injury, passenger: $113,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• Victoria TAC settlement, rear-ended driver: $300,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• WA motorcycle collision with car: $1,600,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• WA car passenger, dirt-road rollover, finger loss: $1,176,750 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• WA car passenger, head-on collision: $675,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• NSW pedestrian, drunk driver, zebra crossing: $1,155,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• NSW motorbike U-turn collision: $930,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• NSW passenger, spinal fractures and psychological injury: $906,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.
• Tasmania passenger, brain damage from tree collision: $500,000 - published Australian plaintiff settlement.

What state regulators publish on scheme outcomes

• Victoria TAC, 2024–25: $1.87 billion in care and benefits paid to 43,000+ injured Victorians; 1,956 clients returned to work within 12 months. TAC claims statistics.
• Victoria TAC indexed caps (March 2026): maximum pain and suffering $680,160; maximum pecuniary loss $1,530,470; serious-injury impairment range $9,580–$437,830.
• NSW SIRA CTP scheme: approximately 12,000 claims filed in the 12 months to October 2024 with $1.5 billion paid in benefits and lump sums. NSW SIRA reports and data.
• NSW 2017 CTP scheme to 30 June 2024: ~97% acceptance rate on lodged statutory benefits claims; ~50% of claimants receive treatment-only benefits; 90% access funded treatment within 2 weeks.