What is CTP insurance?

Yes, if a motorist is found to be driving a vehicle that is not insured, they will be at risk of being subject to quite substantial penalties.

As long as the accident occurs on a road or in a public place, the Nominal Defendant steps in to act as the CTP insurer in relation to your claim for injuries sustained in the accident.

In this case then the CTP insurance extends for one month past the expiry date, and the CTP insurer for the vehicle must indemnify in respect to any motor accident injury compensation claims made within that one month grace period, no matter that the insurance was lapsed at the time of the accident.

Well when a vehicle is unregistered at the time of an accident it is therefore not covered by CTP insurance.

If the driver of the unregistered vehicle is at fault for the accident, then the Nominal Defendant will step in to act as the CTP insurer.

They step in for any claims made for injury sustained by persons in the other vehicles involved in the accident.

Additionally for passengers in the unregistered vehicle (as long as the accident was on a road or in a public place).

The Nominal Defendant may then seek recovery of the costs…

However, the Nominal Defendant may then seek recovery of the costs of any claims made against the driver or owner of the vehicle that was unregistered and did not hold CTP insurance.

If the accident occurred on private property and the vehicle at fault was unregistered and therefore there was no CTP insurance on the vehicle, then the Nominal Defendant does not act as the CTP insurer.

You will therefore need to bring your motor vehicle injury compensation claim against the driver of the vehicle at fault personally.

Whether such a claim would be worthwhile pursuing in such circumstances will depend on whether the driver at fault has any funds or assets to meet your motor vehicle accident compensation claim or holds any public liability insurance that responds to the claim.

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What claims a CTP insurance policy covers in Queensland, is set out in Section 5 of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 below.

(1) This Act applies to personal injury caused by, through or in connection with a motor vehicle if, and only if, the injury:

(a) is a result of;

• (i) the driving of the motor vehicle; or
• (ii) a collision, or action taken to avoid a collision, with the motor vehicle; or
• (iii) the motor vehicle running out of control; or
• (iv) a defect in the motor vehicle causing loss of control of the vehicle while it is being driven; and

(b) is caused, wholly or partly, by a wrongful act or omission in respect of the motor vehicle by a person other than the injured person.

(2) For an uninsured motor vehicle, subsection (1) applies only if the motor vehicle accident out of which the personal injury arises happens on a road or in a public place.

(3) However, this Act does not apply to personal injury caused by, through or in connection with;

• (a) a tractor, backhoe, bulldozer, end-loader, forklift, industrial crane or hoist, or other mobile machinery, other than an agricultural machine; or
• (b) an agricultural machine; or
• (c) a motor vehicle adapted to run on rail or tram tracks; or
• (d) an amphibious vehicle; or
• (e) a motor vehicle of a class prescribed by regulation;unless the motor vehicle accident out of which the injury arises happens on a road.

(4) For subsection (1)(b), the reference to a wrongful act or omission in respect of the motor vehicle does not include the use of the motor vehicle at the particular time it is being used for the actual doing of an act or making of a threat that is an act of terrorism.

(5) The following is an example of a particular time when a motor vehicle is not being used for the actual doing of an act that is an act of terrorism—

A is the driver of a motor vehicle from which a bomb is thrown at a government building.

It is established that at the time the bomb is thrown the motor vehicle is being used for an act of terrorism. In driving away from the building after the bomb is thrown, A runs into a motor vehicle being driven by B.

At the time A’s motor vehicle runs into B’s motor vehicle A’s motor vehicle is not being used for the actual doing of an act of terrorism.(6) Subsection (4) only applies to an act of terrorism happening on or after 1 January 2002.