Injured at work or on the road in the Upper Hunter Shire?

Road crash data for the Upper Hunter Shire, 2020 to 2024

Transport for NSW records for 2020 to 2024 show the New England Highway, the freight route north, with the largest share of the shire's injury crashes, followed by the Golden Highway out west and, a long way back, Bunnan Road. Two-thirds or so were on country roads outside the towns, and fewer than one in five were at an intersection. Trucks and other heavy vehicles were involved in around one in eight, usually with someone at work behind the wheel on freight and stock runs. Wet roads featured in roughly one in seven. Pedestrians and cyclists hardly appear, so the picture here is mainly drivers, passengers and riders on open country roads, many of them on the job.

These are Transport for NSW’s records of crashes in which someone was killed or injured, counted by where the crash happened. They count crashes, not risk: a busy arterial records more crashes than a quiet street because it carries more traffic.

Casualties are people killed plus people recorded as seriously, moderately or minor/other injured; one crash can injure more than one person. Injury severities are as recorded in this police-reported dataset. Transport for NSW’s hospital-linked serious injury statistics are a different, higher series.

Where people were hurt most often, 2020 to 2024

Of the 160 crashes where someone was hurt from 2020 to 2024, motorcycles were involved in about 17%, pedestrians in about 2%, bicycles in about 3% and heavy vehicles in about 13%. Of those crashes, about 68% happened in speed zones of 90 km/h or more. By light and road conditions, about 27% happened in darkness, about 6% at dawn or dusk and about 15% on wet roads.

Source: Transport for NSW, NSW Road Crash Data 2020 to 2024 (open data). Casualty crashes by LGA of crash. NSW crash data on Transport for NSW Open Data.

Injured at work in the Upper Hunter Shire

Work in the Upper Hunter Shire leans on agriculture, retail, education and aged care. Each brings its own pattern of injuries, and each guide below covers how a claim in that industry usually runs.

Work injuries we see from these industries

• Back injury from lifting and vehicle jolt →Bale lifting, long tractor days and uneven paddock driving.
• Psychological injury and burnout →Workload stress, student aggression, parent aggression and admin overload.
• Shoulder injury from shearing and stock handling →Shearing posture, yard work and livestock restraint.
• Neck injury from scanning and reaching →Repetitive reach, overhead stock and register posture.
• Industrial deafness from machinery →Years of tractor, harvester and shed machinery noise.
• Knee and foot injuries from rough terrain →Paddock uneven ground, stock runs and vehicle step-downs.

The first steps on a workers compensation claim

1. Tell your employer as soon as you can, in writing if possible, and note who saw it. The claim should be made within six months of the injury, though a later claim can still be accepted in some circumstances.
2. See a doctor and get the first Certificate of Capacity. It records the injury, the treatment plan and the work you can safely do, and our WorkCover doctors write it in the format insurers expect (see the Certificate of Capacity guide).
3. Your employer notifies its insurer within 48 hours of becoming aware of the injury. If it does not, you can claim with the insurer directly, and our team can prepare the form with you.
4. The insurer responds. It generally has to start provisional weekly payments within seven days of being notified, unless it has a reasonable excuse. For the first 13 weeks they are generally 95% of your pre-injury average weekly earnings, up to a weekly maximum; try the WorkCover payment calculator.

Sources: Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW) ss 44, 261 and 267; Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) s 36 (checked September 2026).

Treatment and getting back to work

On an accepted claim the insurer pays for treatment that is reasonably necessary because of the injury, and our physios, psychologists and rehabilitation providers work from the same file as your doctor. Your employer must provide suitable work so far as reasonably practicable, and cannot dismiss you because you are unfit for work as a result of the injury within six months of first becoming unfit.

Sources: Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) s 60; Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW) ss 49 and 248 (checked September 2026).

The rest of the scheme is in our workers compensation NSW guide. Only just hurt? Start with what to do when you are injured at work.

Road crashes in the Upper Hunter Shire: first steps

Start with police. If they didn't attend, report the crash so it's on record with an event number. Swap names and contact details with the other driver and note the registration. Get your injuries checked and written down promptly, even if you felt well enough to drive home. If you crashed on the job, say carting cattle out Merriwa way or floating a mare between studs, let your employer know too, since that usually means workers compensation first. If not, it's a CTP claim with the at-fault vehicle's insurer. Either way, our doctors can issue the certificate that applies.

Report it, and get the police event number

If police did not attend, report the crash to police as soon as you can. Where anyone is injured, the Road Rules require a driver involved to report it as soon as possible and, except in exceptional circumstances, within 24 hours. If police attended, that is the report. The CTP insurer needs the crash to have been reported to police within 28 days so it can verify your claim, and it will ask for the police event number. You can report through the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or at a police station.

Sources: NSW Road Rules 2014 r 287; SIRA, guide for people injured in a motor vehicle accident (checked September 2026).

Work out which CTP insurer handles the claim

The claim goes to the CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle where it has been identified, or your own vehicle’s insurer if you were the at-fault driver. NSW has six licensed CTP insurers: AAMI, Allianz, GIO, NRMA, QBE and Youi. If the vehicle was never identified, or was uninsured, the Nominal Defendant handles the claim.

Sources: SIRA, list of licensed CTP insurers; SIRA, Nominal Defendant; Service NSW, apply for personal injury benefits (checked September 2026).

See a doctor, and get the Certificate of Fitness

You can be seen before any claim is made. In the first 28 days the insurer may pay for one GP consultation and up to two allied health sessions, once it knows about the crash and a claim or reference number exists. The first Certificate of Fitness must come from your treating medical practitioner; later ones can come from your physio or psychologist where the injury is within their area of practice, and each generally covers no more than 28 days.

Sources: SIRA, Motor Accident Guidelines 4.68, 4.69, 4.78 and 4.79; Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) s 3.15(3)(b) (checked September 2026).

The CTP time limits

Sources: SIRA, guide for people injured in a motor vehicle accident; Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) s 6.13 (checked September 2026).

Treatment and weekly payments are payable whoever was at fault for the first 52 weeks. After that, it depends on whether the injury is a threshold injury and whether you were mostly at fault. Our car accident injury service explains how we run a CTP file.

Source: Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) ss 3.11 and 3.28 (checked September 2026).

Reading for crashes like the ones in this area

• The first 72 hours after a crash →From the roadside to the first appointment, in order.
• The Certificate of Fitness →The form behind CTP weekly payments, and who signs it.
• CTP treatment approvals →What the insurer pays for, and how requests are decided.
• Motorcycle accident injury →The rider injury mix, and how treatment is funded.
• Whiplash treatment →How whiplash is graded and treated.

When work and the road overlap

Much Upper Hunter work happens on the road: stud staff floating horses between properties, farm contractors covering big distances, and drivers running freight up the New England Highway. A crash in the course of your job usually goes to workers compensation first. If another driver was at fault, a CTP damages claim may also be open, and finalising either claim can change the other. First appointments start the same way whether you were hurt in a stud yard or on the highway: our doctor records what happened, then writes either a Certificate of Capacity under workers compensation or, for a road claim, a Certificate of Fitness. Local industries shape what our clinics see, from injuries handling horses and cattle to machinery strains and the neck and back injuries that follow high-speed crashes. For legal questions about how the two claims fit together, our partner law firms can help.

Driving for work: workers compensation usually comes first

CTP statutory benefits are not payable where workers compensation is payable for the same injury. The CTP side does not simply close, though: the CTP insurer can only refuse on that ground once you have made a successful workers compensation claim, or have not complied with its request to make one. Tell each insurer about the other claim.

Source: Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW) s 3.35 (checked September 2026).

The commute is a different question

An ordinary drive between home and work is a workers compensation matter only where there is a real and substantial connection between the employment and the accident, such as an errand you were sent on. A plain commute tends to be a CTP matter on its own.

Source: SIRA, work break and journey claims (checked September 2026).

For app-based drivers and riders, whether you count as a worker is decided on the facts of the arrangement rather than the label in the app’s terms. More on car accidents at work in NSW and rideshare and delivery driver accidents.

Places in the Upper Hunter Shire

The council area takes in the places below, and we help people from all of them.

• Scone
• Aberdeen
• Merriwa
• Murrurundi
• Cassilis
• Wingen
• Parkville
• Middle Brook
• Segenhoe
• Blandford
• Gungal
• Moobi
• Gundy
• Upper Dartbrook
• Rouchel
• Moonan Flat
• Ellerston
• Dartbrook
• Bunnan
• Glenbawn
• Owens Gap
• Belltrees
• Kars Springs

Main roads

The main roads through the council area include the New England Highway, the Golden Highway, Bunnan Road, Gundy Road and Hunter Road.

Getting around

• Hunter Line trains from Newcastle stop at Aberdeen and terminate at Scone
• NSW TrainLink Xplorer trains between Sydney and Armidale or Moree stop at Aberdeen and Scone, and at Murrurundi on request
• The New England Highway bypass of Scone opened in March 2020

Neighbouring council areas: Muswellbrook, Mid-Western, Liverpool Plains, Tamworth, Mid-Coast, Warrumbungle, Singleton, Dungog and Walcha.

Questions from people in the Upper Hunter Shire

Sources

Crash figures are Transport for NSW open data (CC BY 4.0). Scheme rules come from the legislation and guidance below.

• Transport for NSW, NSW Road Crash Data 2020 to 2024 (CRASH table, open data), retrieved 2 October 2026.
• Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), ss 3.11, 3.15, 3.28, 3.35 and 6.13
• Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), ss 36 and 60
• Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW), ss 44, 49, 248, 261 and 267
• SIRA, Motor Accident Guidelines Part 4 (claims), paragraphs 4.68, 4.69, 4.78 and 4.79
• SIRA, guide for people injured in a motor vehicle accident
• SIRA, list of CTP insurers
• SIRA, Nominal Defendant
• SIRA, work break and journey claims
• Service NSW, apply for personal injury benefits (motor vehicle accident)
• NSW Road Rules 2014, r 287

Place details, population and area:

• Wikipedia: Upper Hunter Shire
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats
• Upper Hunter Shire Council website
• Wikipedia: Scone, New South Wales
• Wikipedia: Scone railway station
• Wikipedia: Aberdeen railway station, New South Wales
• Wikipedia: Murrurundi railway station
• Wikipedia: New England Highway
• Wikipedia: Golden Highway

This page is general information about the NSW workers compensation and CTP schemes, not legal or medical advice about your situation. Scheme rules were checked in September 2026. For advice about your own injury, speak to a treating clinician.