CTP weekly payments: how they work in practice

Who gets weekly payments

Weekly payments are for people whose accident injuries affect their ability to work and their earnings, including people who are self-employed. To receive them you need:

• a claim lodged with the CTP insurer (see how to make a CTP claim)
• a current Certificate of Fitness from your treating doctor, which records how your injuries affect your work
• proof of your earnings, such as payslips from before and after the crash.

Lodge early to protect back-pay

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.

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.

Work out your own dates: CTP claim time limits.

How much you receive

Weekly payments are worked out as a share of your pre-accident weekly earnings.

Payments are also subject to a legislated maximum weekly amount. It's indexed every year on 1 October, so we don't quote a figure. The insurer can tell you the current maximum.

What counts as your earnings

The insurer works out your pre-accident weekly earnings from evidence of what you earned. Your pre-accident earnings can reflect higher income you earned in the 12 months before the accident.

Give the insurer everything that shows your usual income, such as payslips and records of any regular overtime or commission. The insurer decides what counts, and it must explain its calculation.

If you're self-employed, evidence such as business activity statements or a letter from your accountant can help show what you earned.

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.

The insurer must also send you a written notice explaining how it worked out your pre-accident weekly earnings. Keep it: it's the starting point if the amount looks wrong.

When payments start

The insurer must tell you in writing within 4 weeks whether it accepts liability for your claim. If it accepts, it must start weekly payments as soon as possible and within 10 business days.

What else happens in the first weeks: what happens after you lodge.

If you're back at some work

Earnings after the accident are taken into account. Your Certificate of Fitness records what work you can do. Tell the insurer if your circumstances change, for example you return to work or your earnings change.

How long weekly payments last

• Threshold injury, or wholly or mostly at fault: for accidents on or after 1 April 2023, weekly payments generally stop after 52 weeks. For accidents between 1 December 2017 and 31 March 2023, the limit was generally 26 weeks. See threshold injury and if you were at fault.
• Everyone else: weekly payments generally stop after 2 years, and can continue for longer in some cases while a damages claim is pending.
• To keep weekly payments going beyond 2 years, a damages claim must be lodged within 2 years of the accident. See lump sum damages.
• Weekly payments never continue beyond 5 years after the crash, and for most people they end earlier.

Reductions after 52 weeks

If you contributed to your own injuries (contributory negligence), weekly payments after 52 weeks may be reduced. Not wearing a seatbelt is a common example.

Keeping payments going

• 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.
• Tell the insurer about any work you do and any change in your earnings.
• Give the insurer information it reasonably asks for. Not providing it can delay or affect your claim.
• Keep copies of everything you send and receive, with the dates.

If the amount looks wrong

Start with the written notice explaining how the insurer worked out your pre-accident earnings. Check it against your payslips or business records, and ask the insurer to explain anything that doesn't match. If you still disagree, you can generally ask for an internal review within 28 days of receiving the decision.

The CTP Legal Advisory Service can advise on statutory benefits questions, such as the amount of your weekly payments, for accidents from 1 December 2017. You check you're eligible through SIRA's CTP Assist line, 1300 656 919.

How reviews work: insurer decisions and reviews.

Centrelink

Weekly payments are compensation for lost income, so they can affect Centrelink payments for you or your partner. You must tell Centrelink. Services Australia has an online compensation estimator.

Check the current rules

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