How to make a CTP claim in NSW, step by step

Step 1: See a doctor and get a Certificate of Fitness

In NSW CTP claims, your doctor completes a Certificate of Fitness, which records your injuries and your capacity for work. You need one to lodge your claim.

Get it from your GP, preferably on SIRA's Certificate of Fitness form. Tell the doctor it was a motor accident and mention every symptom, even ones that seem small.

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 such as physiotherapy. This is at the insurer's discretion and only within the first 28 days after the crash.

More: the Certificate of Fitness.

Step 2: Report to police and get an event number

Report the crash to police within 28 days, unless police attended, and give the insurer the police event number. Call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or go to a police station.

You can lodge your claim while you wait for the number. If you can't get one, the insurer may ask for other proof, such as photos, witness statements, a hospital discharge summary or dashcam footage. More: police event number.

Step 3: Work out which insurer

You claim against the CTP insurer of the vehicle that was at fault. If you know its number plate, the Service NSW registration check (opens in a new tab) shows the CTP insurer and policy expiry date (NSW-registered vehicles only). If you don't know the insurer, use SIRA's online CTP Connect tool (opens in a new tab).

If a claim goes to the wrong insurer, it is transferred to the right one and you don't have to give notice again. More: finding your CTP insurer, or try the Which insurer? check.

Step 4: Complete the Application for Personal Injury Benefits

The claim form is called the Application for Personal Injury Benefits, and it applies to accidents from 1 December 2017. Get the current version from SIRA's website (opens in a new tab), Service NSW or the insurer. If you lodge online, you answer much the same questions on screen.

Attach your Certificate of Fitness, receipts for treatment, and proof of earnings such as payslips if you're claiming lost income. Keep a copy of everything.

We explain every section in the claim form, explained.

Step 5: Lodge it

There are three ways to lodge:

• Online through Service NSW, using your MyServiceNSW account. First add the "Motor accident injury claims (CTP insurance)" service under My Services. Service NSW online claim (opens in a new tab).
• Email or post the completed form to the insurer. Use registered post so it can be tracked, and attach your Certificate of Fitness, medical receipts and proof of earnings.
• Contact the insurer of the vehicle most at fault and lodge directly with it.

We can help with any of these: we go through the claim form with you and help get your claim to the insurer.

Note the date the claim was lodged and keep a copy of what was sent.

Step 6: After you lodge

Here's what should generally happen next:

• Within about 3 days, the insurer should contact you to confirm it has your claim, give you a claim number and a contact person, and explain how to get treatment.
• Within 4 weeks, the insurer must tell you in writing whether it accepts liability for your claim.
• If it accepts liability, it must start weekly payments as soon as possible and within 10 business days, and send you a written notice explaining how it worked out your pre-accident weekly earnings.
• If the insurer denies the claim, it gives you the reasons and tells you how to ask for a review.

Tell the insurer if your circumstances change, for example you return to work or your earnings change. Keep your Certificate of Fitness current. More: what happens after you lodge and insurer decisions and reviews.

Timing

Make your claim as soon as possible. To get 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.

For accidents on or after 1 April 2023, if you claim after 28 days but within 3 months, you may still be paid from the day after the accident if you give a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay.

Claims made more than 3 months after the accident can only be accepted in limited circumstances, usually where there is a full and satisfactory explanation for the delay. Speak to a lawyer straight away if you're outside 3 months.

Work out your own dates with the time limits tool, or try the Am I in time? check.

Don't have everything yet?

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.

Send what the insurer asks for as soon as you can. Not providing information the insurer reasonably asks for can delay or affect your claim.

How we help at each step

When legal help might make sense

Many people lodge and manage a claim without a lawyer. Legal help tends to matter more when:

• fault is disputed
• it was a hit-and-run and the vehicle can't be identified
• more than 3 months have passed since the accident
• your injuries are serious, or you may have a claim for damages
• the insurer has refused your claim or cut your benefits.

The CTP Legal Advisory Service gives confidential advice on questions about statutory benefits (crashes from 1 December 2017). It doesn't advise on damages claims.

If your case calls for it, we can introduce you to an independent CTP lawyer. It's your choice.