CTP claims in Queensland: who can claim, including if you were partly at fault
A CTP claim is a claim for compensation for an injury caused by a motor vehicle in Queensland, made against the CTP insurer of the vehicle at fault. Someone other...
Most Queensland injury claims have two time limits: a notice deadline, usually within 9 months and sometimes much sooner, and a court time limit, which is generally 3 years. Which notice rule applies depends on whether you were hurt on the road, at work or somewhere else.
General information about Queensland law. Not legal advice. Law checked against the Acts in force on 25 September 2026.
Most Queensland personal injury claims run on two clocks. The first is a notice deadline: you must tell the insurer or the party you hold responsible about the claim, usually within 9 months and sometimes much sooner. The second is the court time limit, which is generally 3 years. Which notice rule applies depends on how you were hurt: on the road, at work or somewhere else.
Generally, court proceedings for a personal injury claim in Queensland must start within 3 years from the date the cause of action arose (Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld), section 11(1)). For most accidents, that is the day you were injured. Before that, each scheme has its own notice deadline, which is much shorter. The 3 years is not always the end: the law allows later proceedings in some defined cases.
The Limitation of Actions Act is Queensland’s “statute of limitations”. Injury from a dust-related condition has no limitation period (section 11(2)). Other states have different rules.
It depends on how the injury happened. Motor vehicle accidents generally fall under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), which runs the compulsory third party (CTP) insurance scheme. Work injuries fall under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) (the WorkCover Act). Most other injuries, including falls in shops and public places and injuries from medical treatment, fall under the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) (PIPA).
One injury can involve two schemes. In PIPA’s example, a worker hurt by a faulty machine follows the WorkCover Act against the employer, and PIPA against the machine’s designer (PIPA section 6(2)(a) and (c)).
Most deadlines have exceptions, and some let an insurer, the other party or a court accept a late step.
| Claim type | What must be done | Deadline (generally) | Law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public liability and most other injury claims (PIPA) | Give Part 1 of the Notice of Claim to the party you say is responsible | The earlier of 9 months after the incident (or after symptoms first appeared) and 1 month after you first instruct a law practice, once that party is identified | PIPA s 9(3) |
| PIPA claims, second step | Give Part 2 of the Notice of Claim | Within 2 months after the other party responds to Part 1 (or is taken to be satisfied with it) | PIPA s 9(3A) |
| Medical treatment involving a doctor (PIPA) | Give an initial notice before Part 1 | The same 9 month or 1 month timing as Part 1, counted from the medical incident | PIPA s 9A(4) |
| Motor vehicle accident (CTP) | Give a Notice of Accident Claim Form to the CTP insurer | The earlier of 9 months after the accident (or after symptoms first appeared) and 1 month after you first consult a lawyer about a possible claim | Motor Accident Insurance Act s 37(2)(b) |
| Motor vehicle accident, vehicle cannot be identified | Give the notice to the Nominal Defendant | Within 3 months after the accident. The claim is barred if notice is not given within 9 months | Motor Accident Insurance Act s 37(2)(a), (3) |
| WorkCover statutory compensation | Lodge an application for compensation with the insurer | Within 6 months after your entitlement arises (generally the day a doctor first assesses the injury). Back payments can be limited if you lodge after 20 business days | WorkCover Act s 131(1), (2); s 141(1) |
| WorkCover common law damages | Give a notice of claim for damages | Within the court time limit (generally 3 years), with special periods in some cases | WorkCover Act s 275(1), s 302(1), sch 5 |
| Any claim for damages (PIPA, CTP or WorkCover common law) | Start court proceedings | 3 years from the date the cause of action arose (exceptions below) | Limitation of Actions Act s 11(1); WorkCover Act s 302(1) |
| Children and people under a legal disability, if it existed when the right to claim arose | Start court proceedings | 3 years from the date the disability ends (for a child, generally until they turn 21) | Limitation of Actions Act s 5(2), s 29(1), (2)(c); Law Reform Act 1995 s 17 |
Time limits are as the Acts stood on 25 September 2026. Exceptions are explained below. “The earlier of” means whichever date comes first.
If you were hurt somewhere other than on the road or at work, PIPA generally applies. Before going to court, you must give Part 1 of a Notice of Claim (a written notice in the approved form, section 9(1)) to the person or business you say is responsible. It is due by the earlier of 9 months after the incident (or after symptoms first appeared) and 1 month after you first instruct a law practice, once that party is identified (section 9(3)).
For falls in shops and public places, see your rights after a slip and fall.
Only when both have happened: you first instruct a law practice to seek damages for the injury, and the person you propose to sue is identified (section 9(3)(b)). A community legal service does not count (section 9(9A)). The CTP rule differs (see the questions below).
Part 2 goes to the same party within 2 months after it responds to Part 1 (section 10(1)) or is taken to be satisfied with it by not responding in time, whichever is earlier (sections 9(3A) and 13).
The duty to give it continues, with a reasonable excuse for the delay in Part 1 or a separate notice (section 9(5)). Without a complying Part 1 notice (one that meets the Act’s requirements), the claim cannot go further unless the other party accepts it or waives compliance, or a court allows it (section 18(1)).
For a claim against the State, or an entity with the State’s privileges and immunities, Part 1 counts only if it is given to the Crown Solicitor and names the department or entity you consider responsible (section 9(8)).
For a medical incident involving a doctor, an initial notice comes first, on the same 9 month or 1 month timing (section 9A(4)). Part 1 then follows within 12 months after the other party responds to it (section 9A(8) and (9)(b)).
For a CTP claim, you must give a Notice of Accident Claim Form to the CTP insurer before you can go to court. It is generally due by the earlier of 9 months after the accident (or after symptoms first appeared) and 1 month after you first consult a lawyer about a possible claim (Motor Accident Insurance Act, section 37(2)(b)). If the vehicle cannot be identified, the deadline is 3 months.
The Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) says you do not need a lawyer to make a CTP claim, and you can deal with the insurer directly (MAIC, “Can I claim?”). For who can claim, see who can make a CTP claim in Queensland.
The notice goes to the Nominal Defendant within 3 months after the accident (section 37(2)(a)). MAIC describes the Nominal Defendant as the CTP insurer for uninsured or unidentified vehicles, and asks for a genuine attempt to identify the vehicle first. The claim is barred (it cannot go ahead) if notice is not given within 9 months (section 37(3)).
Anyone who proposes to make a CTP claim must make sure the police have been given appropriate notice of the accident (section 34(1)).
The duty to give notice continues, with a reasonable excuse for the delay (section 37(3)). If notice is not given as required, the claim cannot go further unless the insurer accepts it or waives compliance, or a court allows it (section 39(5)). MAIC says whether to accept the reason for a delay is “entirely up to the insurer”.
An application for WorkCover compensation is generally valid only if it is lodged within 6 months after your entitlement arises (WorkCover Act, section 131(1)). Your entitlement generally arises on the day a doctor first assesses the injury, which can be later than the day you were hurt (section 141(1)). If you lodge more than 20 business days after that, back payments can be limited (section 131(2)). WorkCover Queensland explains how to make a claim.
The application is lodged with the insurer (section 132(2)): WorkCover Queensland for most employers, or the employer if it is self-insured.
The insurer must waive (set aside) the 6 month rule if a medical assessment tribunal decides that special circumstances of a medical nature exist (section 131(4)). It may waive it if a doctor, nurse practitioner or dentist has assessed the injury as causing total or partial incapacity for work and the application was lodged within 20 business days after that first assessment (section 131(5)). It may also waive the 6 month rule or the back-pay limit for a mistake, absence from Queensland or a reasonable cause (section 131(6)). The back-pay limit does not apply where the injury causes death (section 131(3)).
Before going to court, a notice of claim for damages must be given to the insurer (section 275(1) and (2)). Court proceedings generally have the same 3 year limit, with special periods in schedule 5, such as a notice of assessment of permanent impairment given less than 6 months before the 3 years end (section 302(1) and schedule 5).
If a complying notice of claim is given before that period ends and the section 295 pre-court steps are met, proceedings can start later: within 60 days after the compulsory conference, a meeting of the parties generally required before court (sections 289(1), 302(2) and (3)). Who may seek damages is limited (section 237): see WorkCover common law claims in Queensland.
Sometimes, in defined cases. A court may extend the period where a decisive fact was not known in time (Limitation of Actions Act, section 31). Children and people under a legal disability get more time (section 29). And if a complying notice was given before the 3 years ended, court proceedings can generally still start within 6 months after it (PIPA section 59, Motor Accident Insurance Act section 57).
On application, a court may extend the limit to 1 year after the date a “material fact of a decisive character” came within the person’s means of knowledge. That date must fall in the last year of the limitation period or later, and there must be evidence to support the claim (section 31(2)).
Under PIPA, if a complying Part 1 notice was given before the limitation period ended, proceedings can start later: within 6 months after the notice or the court’s leave, or a longer period the court allows (section 59(1) and (2)). The Motor Accident Insurance Act has the same rule for CTP notices (section 57(1) and (2)). For CTP, a notice given to MAIC in the last 14 days of the period is valid if you are unsure which insurer to give it to (section 57(3)).
A court may give leave to start proceedings before the PIPA steps are finished if there is an urgent need (PIPA section 43(1)). The proceedings are then generally paused until the steps are done (section 43(3)).
A child, or a person under a legal disability when the right to claim arose, generally has 3 years from when the disability ends to start court proceedings (Limitation of Actions Act, section 29). For a child, that usually means until their 21st birthday. PIPA and CTP notice periods do not start until the disability ends, but a parent or guardian can give notice earlier (PIPA sections 9(4) and 19; Motor Accident Insurance Act section 40).
The Act says “an infant or of unsound mind” (section 5(2)): in plain terms, a child, or an adult who lacks legal capacity. The age of majority is 18 (Law Reform Act 1995 (Qld), section 17). The extra time applies only if the disability existed when the right to claim arose (section 29(1)). For children, MAIC says the Notice of Accident Claim Form should still be lodged as soon as possible, and an insurer may ask why a claim is late.
The 9 month notice clocks under PIPA and the CTP scheme run from the incident, or from when symptoms first appeared if they were not immediately apparent (PIPA section 9(3)(a); Motor Accident Insurance Act section 37(2)(b)(i)). This does not move the 3 year court limit, which runs from when the cause of action arose (PIPA section 9(9); Limitation of Actions Act section 11(1)).
It can. For CTP, the 1 month runs from when you first consult a lawyer about a possible claim (Motor Accident Insurance Act section 37(2)(b)(ii)). For PIPA, it runs from when you first instruct a law practice and the other party is identified (PIPA section 9(3)(b)). In each case, the earlier deadline applies.
Generally, court proceedings cannot start after the 3 year limit unless an exception applies, such as a court extension for a decisive fact not known in time, later limits for children and people under a legal disability (Limitation of Actions Act sections 29 and 31), or a complying notice given before the 3 years ended (PIPA section 59, Motor Accident Insurance Act section 57, WorkCover Act section 302). Whether one applies depends on the facts.
Generally within 6 months after your entitlement arises, usually the day a doctor first assesses the injury (WorkCover Act sections 131(1) and 141(1)). Lodging more than 20 business days after that can limit back payments, and the insurer can waive the 6 month rule in limited cases (sections 131(2) and 131(4) to (6)).
The claim does not always end. Under PIPA and the CTP scheme, the duty to give notice continues with a reasonable excuse for the delay, and the other party or a court can let the claim go ahead (PIPA sections 9(5) and 18; Motor Accident Insurance Act sections 37(3) and 39(5)). One rule is strict: a claim against the Nominal Defendant is barred if notice is not given within 9 months (Motor Accident Insurance Act section 37(3)).
To talk to Catton Roderick Lawyers about a personal injury matter, call 1300 673 792 or email info@cattonroderick.com.au. Offices in Caboolture, Redcliffe, Birtinya (Sunshine Coast, by appointment) and Brisbane (by appointment).
You can also contact Catton Roderick Lawyers online.
This page is general information about Queensland law as at September 2026. It is not legal advice about your situation. Time limits apply, so please get advice about your own circumstances.
Law checked on 25 September 2026 against the versions in force on that date.
This article is general information about Queensland law as at September 2026. It is not legal advice. Get advice about your own situation.
Reviewed by: Dr Darren Catton, Principal, Catton Roderick Lawyers
Last reviewed: 27 September 2026
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