How to Make a CTP Claim in NSW: A Step-by-Step Guide

A Compulsory Third Party (CTP) claim is the mechanism that pays for medical treatment, lost wages and other support after you've been injured in a motor vehicle accident in NSW. If you've just been in a crash and you're reading this from a hospital bed, a waiting room, or your kitchen table two days later, this guide walks you through exactly what to do, in the order you need to do it.

Step 1: Get medical attention immediately

Before anything else, before phone calls, photos, or paperwork, get checked by a doctor. Even if you feel fine at the scene, adrenaline masks pain for hours and sometimes days. Whiplash, soft tissue injuries, concussion and spinal injuries often present 24 to 72 hours after the impact, and by then the insurer may ask why you didn't seek treatment earlier.

If the accident was serious, take the ambulance. If it seemed minor but you feel off, go to your GP or an emergency department the same day. Ask the treating clinician to document every symptom you mention, even the ones that seem small. That medical record becomes the foundation of your CTP claim.

If you're not sure where to go, our team at the Got Injured page can point you to the right pathway based on the type of accident.

Step 2: Report the accident to police

For any motor vehicle accident in NSW that involves injury, a police report is required. You must report it within 24 hours. You can do this by calling Police Assistance Line on 131 444, or in person at a station. If the accident is serious or anyone is badly hurt, triple zero (000) should already have been called at the scene.

When you make the report, write down the event number the police give you. The CTP insurer will ask for it when you lodge your claim, and without a police event number the insurer can pause the assessment until it's provided.

Step 3: Exchange details at the scene

If it's safe to do so, gather as much information as possible before you leave the scene. You'll need this when you lodge your claim, and it's much harder to track down afterwards.

From every driver involved, collect:

• Full name and residential address
• Phone number and email
• Driver licence number
• Vehicle registration (rego) number
• Make, model and colour of the vehicle
• Name of their CTP insurer (the "green slip" insurer)

Then, if you can, document the scene:

• Photos of all vehicles from multiple angles
• Photos of the road, lane markings, traffic signals and skid marks
• Photos of any visible injuries
• A quick voice note describing what happened while it's fresh in your mind
• Contact details of any witnesses

Step 4: See a CTP-experienced doctor for your Certificate of Fitness

Once you've had the initial medical assessment, your CTP claim needs a Certificate of Fitness (sometimes called a Certificate of Capacity). This document tells the insurer what your injuries are, what treatment you need, and whether you're fit for work, partially fit, or unable to work.

This is where our clinic comes in. Our doctors are experienced specifically in CTP and motor accident injuries, and they understand exactly how these certificates need to be written for the insurer to accept them the first time. A generic GP certificate that says "off work, review in one week" will often be bounced back by the insurer, delaying your income payments and treatment approvals.

Our doctors will:

• Examine you thoroughly and document every injury linked to the accident
• Complete the Certificate of Fitness with the correct level of detail
• Recommend physiotherapy, imaging, specialist referrals or psychological support where needed
• Set realistic capacity levels so your income support isn't unfairly cut off
• Provide ongoing certificates as your recovery progresses

The insurer pays our team directly under the CTP scheme, so there's no out-of-pocket cost for CTP-related consultations. You can book a doctor here, or read more about the service on our CTP service page.

Step 5: Lodge the Personal Injury Claim form within 28 days

This is the formal step that starts your claim. In NSW, you lodge the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) SIRA Personal Injury Claim form — sometimes called the PIB form — within 28 days of the accident to be eligible for full weekly benefits from the date of injury.

Which insurer do you lodge with?

• If the at-fault driver is known and insured: You lodge with the at-fault driver's CTP insurer (their green slip provider).
• If you were at fault, or partially at fault: You lodge with your own vehicle's CTP insurer. Under the current NSW scheme, most injured people receive up to 12 months of statutory benefits regardless of who caused the crash.
• If the other driver is unknown, uninsured, or fled the scene: You lodge through icare as the Nominal Defendant.

The form asks for your personal details, the accident circumstances, details of every party involved, police event number, injury description, treatment to date, and employment and income details. Attach your Certificate of Fitness, any medical reports you already have, and a copy of your driver licence.

Step 6: Keep records of everything

From the day of the accident onwards, treat yourself like a small business keeping tax receipts. Every expense connected to your injury can potentially be reimbursed, but only if you can prove it.

Keep:

• All medical bills, pharmacy receipts and treatment invoices
• Payslips from before the accident and any reduced-hour payslips after
• A letter from your employer confirming dates off work and lost income
• Travel receipts for every trip to a medical appointment (fuel, parking, tolls, rideshare, public transport)
• Receipts for any care or help you've had to pay for at home — cleaners, lawn mowing, childcare you wouldn't normally need
• Bills for assistive equipment, braces, crutches, heat packs

Snap photos of paper receipts and drop them in a dedicated folder on your phone. A shoebox of crumpled receipts three months from now is not a plan.

Step 7: What happens next — the insurer's liability decision

Once your claim is lodged, the insurer has strict timeframes of their own. Within roughly four weeks of receiving your Personal Injury Claim form, the insurer must make a liability decision — that is, decide whether to accept the claim, accept it in part, or deny it.

While they're assessing liability, the insurer is generally required to fund reasonable and necessary treatment for your injuries. That means physio, medical appointments and medication connected to the accident keep flowing. Your Certificate of Fitness also triggers weekly income payments if you're unfit for work or on reduced hours.

After the initial period, ongoing treatment usually needs to be pre-approved by the insurer based on your doctor's recommendations. This is why regular reviews with a CTP-experienced doctor matter — each review produces the evidence the insurer needs to keep approving your care.

If your claim is denied or disputed

Not every claim is accepted straight away. Liability can be contested, injury causation can be challenged, or the insurer might cut off weekly payments before you're ready to return to work. If that happens, you have the right to dispute the decision through internal review and then through the Personal Injury Commission.

This is the point where most people benefit from having a lawyer in their corner. Our compensation lawyers handle CTP disputes on a no-win-no-fee basis, so there's no cost to you unless we recover a result. They know the scheme inside out, they draft the internal review submissions, they brief the medical evidence, and they represent you in the Commission if it goes that far.