Hit and run in Queensland: how Nominal Defendant claims work

A driver runs a red light, clips your car and is gone before you can note the plate. A cyclist is knocked down by a ute that does not stop. A passenger is injured in a car that turns out to be unregistered. In each case there is no CTP insurer to claim against in the usual way, because the vehicle at fault either cannot be found or was never insured.

Queensland’s compulsory third party scheme covers this gap through a body called the Nominal Defendant. Under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) s 31, the Nominal Defendant stands in as the CTP insurer where the at-fault vehicle cannot be identified, or where it was uninsured at the time of the accident.

The catch is timing. Nominal Defendant claims for unidentified vehicles run on a much shorter clock than ordinary CTP claims, and one of the deadlines cannot be extended at all. This article explains who the Nominal Defendant is, which deadline applies to which situation, and what the law expects you to do to find the vehicle before treating it as unidentifiable.

What the Nominal Defendant is

Section 31(1) of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) sets out the principles for working out which insurer answers a claim for personal injury caused by, through or in connection with a motor vehicle. If the vehicle is insured, the claim goes to its CTP insurer. If the vehicle is not insured and no self-insurer is its registered owner, the Nominal Defendant is the insurer: s 31(1)(c). And if the vehicle, or its CTP insurer, cannot be identified, the Nominal Defendant is again the insurer: s 31(1)(d).

In Queensland, CTP cover is tied to registration, so an unregistered vehicle is ordinarily an uninsured one. The practical effect is that an injured person is not left without a respondent merely because the at-fault driver fled, or because the vehicle that caused the injury had no registration. The claim proceeds against the Nominal Defendant on substantially the same footing as an ordinary CTP claim, with the important differences below. The scheme is administered within Queensland’s CTP framework overseen by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission.

Which insurer, and which deadline

The notice of accident claim is the document that starts every Queensland CTP claim. Who receives it, and how quickly it must be given, depends on the situation:

Separately from the notice regime, any court proceedings for damages for personal injury must generally be started within 3 years of the cause of action arising: Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) s 11. The notice deadlines above arrive much sooner than the limitation period, which is why they decide most of these claims in practice.

The 3 month rule for unidentified vehicles

Where the claim is to be given to the Nominal Defendant because the motor vehicle cannot be identified, the notice must be given within 3 months after the accident: s 37(2)(a).

Missing that date is not immediately fatal. The obligation to give the notice continues, and a late notice must include a reasonable excuse for the delay: s 37(3). What is reasonable depends on the circumstances, and the safest course is to treat the excuse requirement as a narrow safety net rather than an extension.

The hard edge is at 9 months. If the vehicle cannot be identified and the notice has not been given to the Nominal Defendant within 9 months after the accident, the claim against the Nominal Defendant is barred: s 37(3). The section leaves no discretion once that point passes. Of all the deadlines in Queensland’s CTP scheme, this is the least forgiving, and it is the main reason hit and run injuries need early attention.

Proper inquiry and search: what the law expects

A claim against the Nominal Defendant for an unidentified vehicle depends on the vehicle actually being unidentifiable. Section 31(2) provides that, in legal proceedings, a vehicle is presumed incapable of identification where affidavit or oral evidence establishes that proper inquiry and search have been made and have failed to establish its identity.

Two things follow. First, some genuine effort to identify the vehicle is expected before the claim is treated as an unidentified-vehicle claim. Second, that effort needs to be provable later, which means keeping records as you go. Steps that commonly matter include:

• reporting the accident to police promptly and obtaining the report or reference number;
• recording the time, place and direction of travel while memory is fresh;
• identifying witnesses and collecting their details;
• canvassing nearby homes and businesses for CCTV, and checking dashcam footage from your own and other vehicles;
• keeping a dated note of each step taken, whether or not it produced anything.

What counts as proper depends on the circumstances of the accident. The inquiries that are reasonable after a highway collision at night differ from those after a low-speed car park incident. The point is to make the effort promptly and to be able to show it.

Uninsured vehicles where the driver is known

The other lane into the Nominal Defendant is the uninsured vehicle whose driver or owner is identified, most commonly an unregistered car. The Nominal Defendant is the insurer under s 31(1)(c), and the claim then follows the ordinary CTP timetable in s 37(2)(b): the earlier of 9 months from the accident (or from the first appearance of symptoms where they are delayed) and 1 month after you first consult a lawyer about the possibility of a claim.

That 1 month trigger deserves emphasis. It starts running from the first consultation with a lawyer about a possible claim, even a preliminary one, and it usually arrives long before the 9 month date. Whichever limb applies, the deadline is the earlier of the two.

What the notice of accident claim involves

The notice itself is a formal document. Under s 37(1) it must be written, contain the information required by regulation, and carry authorisations allowing the insurer access to relevant records. Where a law practice acts for the claimant, the notice must also be accompanied by a law practice certificate from the supervising principal. Getting the notice right the first time matters, because the insurer’s response and the steps that follow are all built on it.

The notice regime sits in front of any court proceedings, and the 3 year limitation period under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) s 11 continues to run in the background. A claim can comply with every notice deadline and still be lost to the limitation period if proceedings are left too late.

I was a passenger in an unregistered car that crashed. Who does my claim go to? Where the at-fault vehicle was uninsured and no self-insurer owns it, the Nominal Defendant stands in as the CTP insurer under s 31(1)(c) of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld). Passengers are commonly blameless, and the ordinary notice deadlines in s 37(2)(b) apply: the earlier of 9 months from the accident and 1 month after first consulting a lawyer about the possibility of a claim.

My dashcam caught part of the number plate. Is the vehicle still unidentified? Not automatically. Partial details can sometimes lead to the vehicle being identified through police inquiries. A vehicle is treated as unidentifiable only where proper inquiry and search have been made and have failed: s 31(2). Report the accident to police early and keep a record of every step taken to find the vehicle.

I missed the 3 month deadline for an unidentified vehicle. Is the claim over? Not necessarily. The obligation to give the notice continues, and it can still be given with a reasonable excuse for the delay: s 37(3). But there is a hard stop: if notice is not given to the Nominal Defendant within 9 months of the accident, an unidentified-vehicle claim is barred. Move immediately.

Does the 1 month rule about seeing a lawyer apply to hit and run claims? The 1 month trigger sits in s 37(2)(b) and applies to claims other than unidentified-vehicle claims, including claims against the Nominal Defendant for an identified but uninsured vehicle. For an unidentified vehicle, the 3 month rule in s 37(2)(a) governs instead.

My symptoms only appeared weeks after the accident. Does that change the deadlines? The delayed-symptoms allowance is part of the 9 month limb in s 37(2)(b)(i), so it can assist in ordinary claims. The 3 month rule for unidentified vehicles runs from the accident itself, though a late notice with a reasonable excuse may still be possible up to the 9 month bar. This is exactly the situation to get advice on quickly.

Where you stand

Hit and run and unregistered-vehicle injuries are the corner of Queensland’s CTP scheme where the deadlines are shortest and the evidentiary expectations arrive earliest. The two things that most protect a person in this position are done in the first weeks: reporting and documenting the search for the vehicle, and getting the notice of accident claim moving well inside the 3 month window.

If this is your situation, it is worth understanding your position early. Contact Fraser Lawyers to talk through how the scheme applies to your circumstances, what deadlines are running in your particular case, and where you stand.

Related reading

• CTP claims in Queensland: the complete guide
• CTP claim time limits in Queensland
• How Fraser Lawyers helps with CTP claims
• Contact Fraser Lawyers

This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Queensland law and the figures referred to can change, and every situation turns on its own facts. Contact Fraser Lawyers for advice specific to your circumstances.

Last updated 11 July 2026.

If you would like to discuss your matter, you can book a consultation or call (07) 5554 6116.