Two entirely different insurance systems respond to a motor vehicle accident in Queensland.

Queensland has separate insurance regimes for personal injury and for vehicle or other property damage. Compulsory third-party insurance, known as CTP, responds to personal injury claims. Comprehensive insurance responds to damage to the insured’s own vehicle and to their liability for others’ property; third-party property insurance responds only to that liability. Neither is compulsory. The two systems are governed by different legislation and subject to different rules on notice, liability and dispute resolution.

For the claim process itself, including the notification steps and time limits, see our guide to CTP claims in Queensland.

This article covers the CTP scheme for personal injury claims, the notice requirements that apply, how liability is assessed, and what the limitation period means for someone injured in a crash in Queensland.

What CTP insurance covers and what it does not.

Every registered motor vehicle in Queensland must carry compulsory third-party insurance under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld) (MAIA). CTP does not reach every injury connected with a vehicle. Under s 5(1) it applies only where the injury results from the driving of the vehicle, a collision or action taken to avoid one, the vehicle running out of control, or a defect causing loss of control while it is being driven, and only where the injury was caused wholly or partly by a wrongful act or omission of a person other than the injured person. For an uninsured vehicle, s 5(2) also requires the accident to have happened on a road or in a public place. It pays compensation for death, physical and psychological injury, lost wages, medical expenses, and the cost of care and assistance, where liability is established.

CTP does not cover damage to vehicles or property. A person whose car is written off in an accident caused by another driver pursues that claim separately. It lies against the person responsible rather than, ordinarily, their insurer, though a driver with comprehensive cover will usually have the insurer handle it. QCAT hears vehicle property damage claims up to $25,000.

The insurer that responds to a CTP claim is the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle. If the at-fault vehicle is uninsured, or the vehicle or its insurer cannot be identified, the Nominal Defendant, a statutory entity established under MAIA, steps in to respond to the claim. The exception is an uninsured vehicle whose registered owner is a self-insurer: by s 31(1)(b) the self-insurer is then the insurer.

The notice requirements under MAIA s 37.

The CTP scheme requires a written notice of claim under MAIA s 37. The period depends on the circumstances of the claim, and notice given outside it engages the late-notice provisions described below.

For a claim against an identified, insured vehicle: the notice of claim must be given within nine months of the date of the accident, or, if symptoms of the injury were not immediately apparent, within nine months of the first appearance of symptoms. However, if the injured person consults a lawyer about the possibility of making a claim, notice must be given within one month of that consultation, where that one month expires before the nine-month period. In practice, consulting a lawyer about the possibility of making a claim can bring the operative date forward.

The position for a Nominal Defendant claim depends on whether the vehicle can be identified. If the vehicle cannot be identified, the notice must be given within three months of the accident, and the claim is barred if notice is not given within nine months. If the vehicle is identified but uninsured or unregistered, the ordinary notice rule applies instead: the notice must be given by the earlier of nine months after the accident (or the first appearance of symptoms) and one month after the injured person first consults a lawyer about the possibility of a claim.

These deadlines apply regardless of whether the claimant was aware of them. A claimant who does not give notice within the primary period must give notice together with a reasonable excuse for the delay. That does not by itself allow the claim to continue: under s 39(5) it cannot proceed unless the insurer is satisfied, or is presumed satisfied because it did not respond in time, or waives the noncompliance, or the court declares the noncompliance remedied or authorises the claim to go on despite it. A claim against the Nominal Defendant for an unidentified vehicle is barred outright once nine months have passed.

The notice deadlines are separate from the limitation period, and missing one is a different problem from missing the other. Section 11 of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) requires a personal injury action to be started within 3 years of the date the cause of action arose. MAIA s 57 provides a limited saving: where notice of the claim was given, or an application for leave to bring the proceeding was made, before the 3 years ran out, a proceeding may still be brought after the limitation period ends, but only within 6 months of that notice or of leave being granted, or a longer period the court allows. That 6 months bites only once the 3 years have passed; it does not shorten them. Separately, part 3 of the 1974 Act can extend the limitation period itself, including for a person who was under a disability.

How liability is assessed under the CTP scheme.

The CTP scheme is fault-based. A claimant must establish a wrongful act or omission in respect of the vehicle by a person other than themselves, and that it caused the injury. Usually that is the driver’s negligence, but s 5(1)(b) is not confined to the driver. The negligence standard is the same as in any other personal injury claim, and it asks more than whether a different course was available. Under s 9 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) there is no breach unless the risk was foreseeable and not insignificant, and a reasonable person in the driver’s position would have taken the precautions, weighed against the probability and likely seriousness of the harm and the burden of guarding against it. Causation is a separate question under s 11: the breach must have been a necessary condition of the harm, and it must be appropriate for the driver’s liability to extend to that harm. Relevant conduct includes speeding, failing to give way, driving while fatigued or distracted, and failing to maintain a vehicle in a roadworthy condition.

The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) applies to the assessment of damages in CTP claims. Contributory negligence is a live issue in motor accident cases: a passenger who was not wearing a seatbelt, a pedestrian who crossed mid-block without looking, a cyclist who was riding without lights at night. CLA s 23 sets the standard by which the claimant’s own care is judged, that of a reasonable person in their position, on what they knew or ought reasonably to have known. The reduction itself is apportioned under s 10 of the Law Reform Act 1995 (Qld), to the extent the court considers just and equitable having regard to the claimant’s share in the responsibility for the damage. None of those examples attracts a fixed percentage; the figure turns on the evidence in the case. The Act does set minimums in other, tightly conditioned situations: ss 47 to 49 create rebuttable presumptions where the claimant was intoxicated or relied on an intoxicated driver, and s 45(3) sets a 25% floor where damages are awarded despite the indictable-offence exclusion. None attaches to conduct of this kind.

All drivers owe a duty of care to other road users. That duty does not disappear because the at-fault driver also suffered injuries, or because the accident occurred in difficult conditions. The standard is not an idealised one applied with hindsight.

General damages in motor accident claims: the ISV framework.

General damages (pain, suffering, and loss of amenity of life) are assessed using the Injury Scale Value framework. The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) provides for this assessment, and the ISV ranges and the rules for applying them are set by regulation. The current one is the Civil Liability Regulation 2025 (Qld), which commenced on 1 September 2025 and replaced the 2014 Regulation. The framework places an injury on a scale from 0 to 100 by reference to the ISV range for that injury in Schedule 3 of the Regulation. Where there is more than one injury, the Regulation does not give each injury a separate ISV that is then added together. Instead, it identifies the dominant injury and applies the multiple-injury method in Schedule 2. Under s 3 of that Schedule the other injuries may lift the ISV higher within the range for the dominant injury. Where the court considers the maximum ISV for the dominant injury inadequate to reflect the impact of the injuries together, s 4 permits an assessment above that maximum. It must not exceed 100 and should rarely be more than 25% above the maximum dominant ISV, and if it does exceed that 25% the court must give detailed written reasons. The resulting ISV is converted to a dollar amount under s 62 of the Act, not by the Regulation: general damages are a base amount plus a variable amount, fixed by a Ministerial notice under s 75 for the period within which the injury arose, and indexed annually.

The ISV framework applies specifically to the general damages component. Economic losses, being past and future lost wages, medical expenses, and care costs, are assessed separately, on the damages principles and statutory limits that apply to personal injury claims.

Vehicle damage and the separate property claim.

If another driver caused your accident and your vehicle was damaged, your property claim is separate from the CTP personal injury claim. The claim lies against the person responsible, usually the at-fault driver. If they hold comprehensive insurance their insurer will ordinarily handle it under the policy; if not, you pursue the driver directly, through QCAT for claims up to $25,000 or the courts for larger amounts.

Your own comprehensive insurance may also respond to the vehicle damage, subject to your excess and the terms of your policy. Making a claim on your own policy does not affect your right to pursue a CTP claim for personal injury separately.

The actions taken at the scene and in the days following a crash affect both the insurance position and the evidentiary record for any subsequent claim. Certain steps consistently matter.

At the scene: ensure safety, call emergency services where anyone is injured, and exchange details with the other driver including their name, address, vehicle registration, and insurer if known. Photograph the vehicles, the scene, any visible injuries, and any relevant road or environmental conditions. Record the names and contact details of witnesses before they leave.

In the following days: seek medical attention even if injuries seem minor at the time, because some injuries, including soft tissue damage and psychological effects, are not immediately apparent. Report the accident to your own insurer. A consultation with a lawyer about the possibility of making a claim starts the one-month limb in MAIA s 37(2)(b)(ii). A recorded statement given to the at-fault driver’s insurer may be used in the assessment of the claim.

For more detail on how Queensland motor vehicle injury claims work from notice to settlement, see the motor vehicle accidents page, and the broader personal injury services page.

Last updated 31 August 2026.

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