Indicative payout ranges by claim type
| Claim type | Common range | Headline keyword |
|---|---|---|
| Workers compensation | $15,000 – $700,000+ | Average lump sum ~$61,000 |
| Psychological injury | $30,000 – $400,000+ | Reasonable management action exclusion key |
| Permanent impairment | $5,000 – $200,000+ | WPI percentage drives the amount |
| General compensation amounts | $10,000 – $5,000,000+ | Cross-vertical breakdown |
| TPD insurance | $80,000 – $1,500,000+ | Multiplied across multiple super funds |
| Motor vehicle accidents | $10,000 – $5,000,000+ | Average ~$118,000 (NSW) |
What drives the variation
Two people with apparently similar injuries can receive vastly different payouts because of:
- Scheme rules — no-fault schemes (VIC TAC, NT MAC, TAS MAIB) provide ongoing benefits without lump-sum settlements; fault-based schemes (NSW CTP, QLD CTP, WA, SA) provide common-law lump sums.
- Recovery types available — statutory benefits only vs statutory + common-law damages
- Threshold gates — VIC requires "serious injury", WA requires 15% WPI, SA requires 5% WPI for various entitlements
- Age and earning capacity — younger / higher-earning claimants accumulate larger economic loss claims
- Catastrophic-injury schemes — NSW LTCS, VIC TAC, WA CISS provide lifetime care funding for the most serious cases, separate from any lump sum
Per-vertical payouts guides
- Workers compensation payouts
- Psychological injury payouts
- Permanent impairment payouts
- TPD payouts (within the TPD vertical)
- Quick compensation estimator (interactive tool)