How to Make a CTP Claim in Queensland: The Step-by-Step Process

CTP insurance is attached to every registered Queensland vehicle. It does not cover damage to cars or property, only personal injury. It is governed by the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) and regulated by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC).

Most people we meet at WT Compensation Lawyers came to us because they thought they only had a smashed car. They did not realise that the stiff neck, the shoulder that will not settle, or the headaches that started three days later were a compensable injury with its own claim, its own insurer and its own deadline. This page sets out the process in order so you can see where you are in it.

Key takeaways

• CTP covers personal injury only. Damage to your vehicle is dealt with separately under your own comprehensive or third party property insurance.
• You claim against the CTP insurer of the vehicle that caused the accident, not your own insurer.
• The accident must be reported to police, and you need the QP number (traffic incident number) for your claim form.
• In most cases the Notice of Accident Claim Form must be lodged within nine months of the accident or of your symptoms first appearing, or within one month of first instructing a lawyer, whichever comes first.
• If you were partly at fault you can still claim. Your compensation is reduced to reflect your share of the blame, not refused.
• MAIC reports that Queensland CTP claims usually take 12 to 18 months to reach settlement.

Step 1: Report the accident to police and get a QP number

You cannot lodge a CTP claim without evidence that the accident was reported to police. When a crash is reported, police issue a traffic incident number, commonly called a QP number or QPrime number, and that number goes on your claim form.

If police attended the scene but you were not given a QP number, go to a police station and ask for it. If the accident was never reported, complete a Report of Traffic Incident to Police Form and take it in to a station in person. MAIC’s guidance is specific on this point: report it at a station rather than to Policelink, because that is how the QP number is issued.

Where a QP number genuinely cannot be obtained, the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle can talk you through the alternatives. Do not treat a missing QP number as the end of the claim.

Step 2: See a doctor and get a CTP insurance medical certificate

This is a specific form, not the ordinary medical certificate you give an employer. A doctor must physically examine you and then complete the CTP insurance medical certificate describing your injuries, their effects and the treatment you need. It is lodged with the claim form and it is what allows the insurer to start funding treatment.

See a doctor early even if the injury seems minor. Soft tissue injuries frequently present days later, and a medical record created close to the accident is far more persuasive than one created months afterwards. Our guides to whiplash compensation and soft tissue injuries explain why the gap between the accident and the first medical record matters so much.

Step 3: Identify the at-fault vehicle’s CTP insurer

Your claim is lodged with the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident. To find it you need that vehicle’s registration number and the date of the accident. MAIC runs a free “Find a vehicle’s CTP insurer” tool for Queensland-registered vehicles.

Some situations change where the claim goes:

• The at-fault vehicle is registered interstate. You still claim under the Queensland scheme, but the claim is lodged with and managed by that vehicle’s insurer in its home state. The PDF version of the Queensland claim form must be used, because interstate insurer claims cannot go through the Queensland CTP portal.
• The accident happened outside Queensland but a Queensland-registered vehicle was at fault. You follow the claims process of the state where the crash happened, and the Queensland insurer manages the claim.
• The at-fault vehicle was unregistered, uninsured or cannot be identified. The claim goes to the Nominal Defendant, and shorter deadlines apply.

Step 4: Lodge the Notice of Accident Claim Form before the deadline

The Notice of Accident Claim Form is the document that starts your claim. It can be lodged through the Queensland CTP Portal or as a PDF. The deadlines are set by law, and missing them is the single most common reason a valid injury claim is refused.

The one month rule catches people out. If you see a lawyer eight weeks after the accident, your form is due one month after that meeting, not nine months after the crash. It is a reason to speak to someone early rather than a reason to delay.

If you are already outside these timeframes, the form has a section headed “Additional information/excuse for delay” where you explain the reason for the delay. The insurer decides whether to accept it, and that decision is at their discretion. A late form is worth lodging with a proper explanation; an unlodged form is worth nothing.

Separately from the claim form deadline, court proceedings for a personal injury claim in Queensland are subject to a three-year limitation period under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), running from the date of the accident for an adult. Most claims settle well before that point, but it is the outer boundary of the claim.

Step 5: What the insurer must do after you lodge

The claims process has statutory timeframes on the insurer as well as on you. MAIC publishes them:

1. Within 14 days of lodgement, the insurer must tell you whether your form was lodged correctly, or “compliant”, and ask for anything missing.
2. Within 14 days of lodgement, the insurer must also tell you whether it will fund reasonable and appropriate rehabilitation. You can ask for treatment to be pre-approved.
3. Within six months of your claim becoming compliant, the insurer must make a liability decision: whether it accepts that its insured driver caused your injuries, and whether it says you contributed.
4. Medico-legal assessments follow. Both sides may obtain specialist reports on your injuries and any permanent impairment. You may be asked to attend an examination at the insurer’s expense, and you must cooperate.
5. Settlement is normally negotiated once liability is decided and your injuries are stable. If the matter does not resolve, either side can call a compulsory conference, and if that fails both sides exchange written final offers.

A claim is not usually settled until your injury has stabilised and the long-term effect is known, because accepting a settlement finalises the claim and you cannot come back for more from the same accident.

How long a Queensland CTP claim takes

MAIC’s published guidance is that Queensland CTP claims usually take 12 to 18 months to settle. Straightforward claims can resolve in around six months. Claims involving complex injuries and long courses of treatment can run two to three years or more, because the value cannot be assessed until the medical picture is clear.

Our page on how long a personal injury claim takes to settle goes through what actually drives the timeline, and CTP payout amounts in QLD covers how compensation is worked out.

What you can claim through CTP

• Reasonable and appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation funded by the insurer.
• Past loss of income and an estimate of future loss of earning capacity.
• General damages for pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Not every injury qualifies; the injury has to be serious enough, and the amount is calculated under the statutory Injury Scale Value system rather than negotiated freely.
• Care and assistance you have needed, and legal costs and disbursements in accordance with the scheme rules.
• Where someone has died, reasonable funeral expenses and financial support for dependants.

Queensland’s fault-based CTP scheme sits alongside the no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ), which funds lifetime treatment, care and support for people who sustain eligible serious personal injuries in motor vehicle accidents on Queensland roads on or after 1 July 2016, regardless of who was at fault.

When a CTP claim will not succeed

• The injured person was entirely at fault, or nobody was at fault, such as a single vehicle accident involving only your own car. Being partly at fault is a different situation and does not prevent a claim.
• The claim is only for damage to a vehicle or other property. CTP does not cover property damage at all.
• The claim form was lodged outside the statutory timeframes and the insurer did not accept the explanation for the delay.

Do you need a lawyer for a CTP claim?

You do not have to be represented. MAIC is explicit that you can deal with the insurer directly. Where legal advice earns its place is in disputed liability, contributory negligence arguments, serious or permanent injuries, claims where future earning capacity is in issue, and any claim where the insurer’s assessment of impairment differs from your own doctors’.

We act on a no win, no fee basis, and our fees page sets out how that works before you commit to anything.

Where we act

WT Compensation Lawyers act for injured people across Queensland, with car accident lawyers in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Cairns. For Far North Queensland claims our Cairns compensation lawyers handle CTP matters locally, which matters when medico-legal appointments and conferences have to happen somewhere you can actually get to.

If you are not sure whether you have a claim, contact us and we will tell you plainly. Many people who ring us about a damaged car turn out to have an injury claim they did not know existed.

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Contact us

WT Compensation Lawyers
Address: Level 6, 10 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD 4000
Phone: (07) 3924 9544
Email: info@wtlaw.com.au
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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