What happens after you lodge a CTP claim

Before you lodge: the first 28 days

Two things usually come first: a Certificate of Fitness from your doctor, and a police event number. Report the crash to police within 28 days (unless police attended) by calling the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or going to a police station.

To have weekly payments back-paid to the day after the accident, the insurer generally needs your claim within 28 days of the accident. You can still claim up to 3 months after the accident, but weekly payments may only start from the date of the claim. Work out your dates: CTP claim time limits.

You can lodge your claim even if you don't have every document yet. The insurer will ask for what's missing, and you can add information later.

Once you've told the insurer about your injury, it can approve some treatment before you lodge a full claim, usually a GP visit and two further treatment sessions. This is at the insurer's discretion and only within the first 28 days after the crash.

The steps, start to finish: how to make a CTP claim.

About 3 days after you lodge

The insurer should contact you within about 3 days to confirm it has your claim, give you a claim number and a contact person, and explain how to get treatment.

Write down the claim number and your contact person's name. Give your doctor and other providers the insurer's name and your claim number, so treatment bills go to the insurer rather than Medicare.

Within 4 weeks: the liability decision

The insurer must tell you in writing within 4 weeks whether it accepts liability for your claim.

If it accepts liability and you can't work, or can't work as much, it must start weekly payments as soon as possible and within 10 business days. It must also send you a written notice explaining how it worked out your pre-accident weekly earnings.

Until your pre-accident earnings can be worked out, the insurer may pay an interim amount. If the correct amount turns out to be higher, it should pay you the difference, generally within 10 business days. More in weekly payments.

If the insurer says no, its letter gives the reasons and explains how to ask for a review. You generally have 28 days from receiving the decision to ask for an internal review. See insurer decisions and reviews.

The months that follow

• Keep your Certificate of Fitness current. Get a new one before the current one runs out. The insurer can suspend weekly payments if you don't give it a current certificate.
• Check with the insurer before ongoing treatment. It must decide a request to pay for treatment or care as soon as possible and within 10 business days. Approved accounts should be paid within 20 days. More in treatment and care.
• Tell the insurer if your circumstances change, for example you return to work or your earnings change.
• Give the insurer information it reasonably asks for. Not providing it can delay or affect your claim.
• Keep copies of every letter, certificate and receipt, with the date you sent or received it.

Within 9 months: the threshold injury decision

The insurer must tell you whether it has classified your injury as a threshold injury within 9 months of your claim being lodged. If you disagree, you can ask for an internal review within 28 days of receiving the notice.

The insurer also gives you a separate liability notice about benefits after 52 weeks.

What the label means for you: threshold injury.

At 52 weeks

• For accidents on or after 1 April 2023, statutory benefits generally stop after 52 weeks for a threshold injury, or if you were wholly or mostly at fault. For accidents between 1 December 2017 and 31 March 2023, the limit was generally 26 weeks.
• Children who were 16 or under at the time of the accident can receive treatment and care for as long as they need it, regardless of fault.
• Weekly payments after 52 weeks may be reduced for contributory negligence, for example not wearing a seatbelt. See if you were at fault.

2 years and 3 years: the damages path, for some

Some people can also claim a lump sum (common law damages). Generally another driver must have been at fault and your injury must be more than a threshold injury. Get legal advice.

A damages claim must generally be made within 3 years of the accident. Lodge it within 2 years if you want weekly payments to continue beyond 2 years.

Weekly payments generally stop after 2 years, and can continue for longer in some cases while a damages claim is pending.

If you ask the insurer to accept that your permanent impairment is more than 10%, it should acknowledge the request within 14 days and generally decide within 90 days. If it doesn't decide in time, that's treated as a "no", which you can challenge.

The short version: lump sum damages.

If you disagree with a decision

Disputes can come up at any stage. For most insurer decisions, you can ask the insurer for an internal review, generally within 28 days of receiving the decision. The insurer usually has 14 days to decide (21 days for some medical and fault-related matters, or longer if you give it new information), but never more than 28 days in total.

If you're still unhappy, you can apply to the Personal Injury Commission, an independent tribunal.

If you're unhappy with how you're treated

A complaint is about how the insurer is treating you, rather than a decision you want reviewed. Complain to the insurer first. It must acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and resolve it within 20 business days.

If you're still unhappy, contact the Independent Review Office (IRO) on 13 94 76, or through the online form or email address on iro.nsw.gov.au (opens in a new tab).

How we can help along the way

Once your claim is in, you can come back to us at any stage. We can go through what a letter says, work out the dates that apply to you and help you get the next document ready. We don't give legal advice, and we don't act for you with the insurer.

Tell us where your claim is up to: start your claim.

Check the current rules

Rules change. This page reflects the rules as we understand them in September 2026. General information, not legal advice.