CTP Insurance and Green Slips: How It Works in Every Australian State (2026)

Compulsory Third Party insurance is the one policy you cannot legally drive without in Australia — and it is the one almost nobody understands. It goes by a different name in nearly every state: a green slip in New South Wales, the TAC charge in Victoria, the MAIB premium in Tasmania, motor injury insurance in Western Australia.

The critical thing to know, wherever you live: CTP covers injury to people. It does not pay a single dollar towards fixing any car. Not the other driver’s, and certainly not yours.

Beyond that, the rules diverge sharply. In four states you can shop around and save money. In four you cannot. In three states you generally cannot claim for your own injuries if you caused the crash. And in NSW you have to buy it separately before you can register the car at all — a step that catches out new arrivals and interstate movers every week.

Find out how CTP works where you live

Pick your state or territory. Every figure links back to the official government regulator, because CTP prices are set or capped by government and change on published dates.

CTP across Australia at a glance

What CTP actually covers — and what it does not

This is the most expensive misunderstanding in Australian motoring, and it is worth being blunt about it.

At-fault or no-fault: the difference that decides whether you get paid

Every state runs its own injury compensation scheme, and they fall into two broad families. Which one you live under determines what happens if you are seriously hurt in a crash you caused — a single-vehicle accident, running off the road, misjudging a turn. This is rarely explained clearly and it matters enormously.

The spread is striking: a Melbourne motorist in a high-risk postcode can pay three times what an Adelaide motorist pays for the equivalent compulsory cover. That is not a market outcome you can shop your way out of — it reflects each scheme’s benefit levels, claim frequency and how generously it compensates injury.

State by state, in detail

New South Wales — the green slip

NSW is the outlier. You must buy a green slip separately, before you can register or renew. There is no rego without one, and the registry will not let you proceed. Six insurers are licensed: AAMI, Allianz, GIO, NRMA, QBE and Youi.

The average green slip was around $458 in July 2025. Premiums rose roughly 12.4 per cent between 2022 and 2025, and insurers filed further increases for policies starting from 15 January 2026. NSW operates under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, which delivers defined benefits to injured people largely regardless of fault for the first year.

Victoria — the TAC charge

Victorians never buy CTP as a separate product. It arrives inside your registration as the TAC charge, paid to the Transport Accident Commission, and it is usually the largest single line on a Victorian rego notice. The charge depends on your risk zone — where the vehicle is normally kept — with metropolitan Melbourne paying the most and regional Victoria the least, and it is indexed to CPI each 1 July.

Victoria runs the country’s most comprehensive no-fault scheme. If you are injured in a transport accident, the TAC pays for treatment, rehabilitation and income support regardless of who caused it. There is nothing to compare and no insurer to choose.

Queensland — cheapest on the mainland

Queensland lets you nominate your CTP insurer when you renew your rego, choosing between Allianz, QBE and Suncorp. The Motor Accident Insurance Commission sets a price band and insurers price within it, so the differences are small — but they are real. A Class 1 car cost about $387 a year as at July 2025, with increases of $4 to $19 across the three insurers applying to renewals from 1 October.

Queensland is an at-fault scheme. If you caused the crash, you generally cannot claim CTP compensation for your own injuries.

South Australia — the cheapest in the country

SA motorists pay about $260.71 a year for a metropolitan private passenger vehicle, the lowest CTP charge in Australia. It is collected as part of registration, and you can nominate your insurer from AAMI, Allianz, NRMA, QBE and Youi.

One quirk worth knowing: SA insurers can adjust prices at any time within the Regulator’s approved range, and a new premium takes effect two months after approval. That means the price on your renewal notice is locked in when it is issued, and renewing at a different time of year can produce a different figure for an identical vehicle. SA is an at-fault scheme.

Western Australia — one insurer, two schemes

Motor injury insurance in WA is sold exclusively by the Insurance Commission of Western Australia and is bundled into your rego, typically $350 to $400 a year for a light passenger vehicle. There is nothing to compare.

WA is at-fault for ordinary injury claims, but it also runs a separate Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme that provides lifetime treatment and care on a no-fault basis for the most severe injuries — spinal cord injury, severe brain injury, major amputation, severe burns and permanent blindness. It is an important safety net, but it only engages at that level of severity.

Tasmania — the MAIB premium

Tasmania charges a MAIB premium of around $298 a year for a private car, on top of registration and motor tax, payable to the Motor Accidents Insurance Board. It is a no-fault scheme covering medical treatment, rehabilitation and income support for anyone injured in a Tasmanian motor accident, regardless of blame. One insurer, no choice, no comparison.

ACT and the Northern Territory

The ACT lets you choose from several licensed CTP insurers when you register, and runs a defined-benefits scheme that pays most injured people regardless of fault. The Northern Territory bundles cover into registration through the Motor Accidents Compensation scheme, with a single territory insurer and one of the broadest no-fault schemes in the country — NT residents are generally covered for injury in a motor accident anywhere in Australia.

If you are injured: the deadlines that actually matter

This is the part of CTP that changes lives, and the part people find out about too late. Every scheme has a clock, and missing it can cost you benefits you were otherwise entitled to.

What NSW pays, and for how long

Under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, most injured people receive statutory benefits for up to 52 weeks regardless of who was at fault — weekly income payments, medical and treatment costs, and commercial attendant care. If your injuries are not classed as minor and you were not wholly or mostly at fault, treatment and care benefits can continue for life, with income support for up to five years. That is a meaningful safety net, but only if the claim is lodged.

What to do at the scene and afterwards

1. Get medical attention, even if you feel fine. Whiplash and soft-tissue injuries commonly appear a day or two later, and a same-day medical record is the single most useful thing in any claim.
2. Report to police where required in your state — generally for injury, a hit-and-run, or where a vehicle is towed. Many schemes require a police event number.
3. Get the other driver’s registration, name, phone number and insurer. A photo of their rego plate and licence is faster and more reliable than writing it down.
4. Photograph everything — both vehicles, positions, skid marks, road conditions, signage, damage from several angles.
5. Get witness contact details before people drive off. Independent witnesses matter enormously in at-fault states.
6. Lodge the claim early, well inside the deadline in the table above. Lodging does not commit you to anything and can be withdrawn.
7. Keep every receipt and medical certificate, and a simple diary of symptoms, appointments and days off work.

New to Australia? What nobody tells you about CTP

Most countries bundle injury and vehicle cover into a single motor policy. Australia deliberately splits them, and the split confuses almost every new arrival.

• Buying a car in NSW? Arrange the green slip first. You cannot register without one, and the registry will turn you away. Get the green slip, then register. Everywhere else it is bundled in and you do not need a separate step.
• Your rego is not car insurance. Coming from a country where “insurance” means one product covering everything, it is easy to assume you are covered. You are covered for injuring people, and for nothing else.
• The CTP policy follows the vehicle, not the driver. Anyone driving your car with permission is covered by its CTP. This surprises people from jurisdictions where cover attaches to the named driver.
• Moving interstate means re-registering, and the CTP arrangement changes with it. A Victorian moving to NSW goes from never thinking about CTP to having to buy it separately every year.
• Selling your car? In NSW you may be entitled to a refund of the unused portion of your green slip. Ask the insurer — it is not automatic and most people never claim it.
• Language help exists. Every state regulator offers free interpreter services for claims. You are entitled to use one, and doing so is sensible for anything involving medical or legal terminology.

Five mistakes that cost real money

• Assuming CTP is CTP. In NSW, Queensland, SA and the ACT you choose your insurer, and identical legislated cover can differ by $80 to $150 between companies. Auto-renewing without checking is money left on the table every year.
• Waiting to see if the injury settles. The clock starts at the accident, not at the point you decide it is serious.
• Not lodging because you think you were at fault. In no-fault states you are still entitled to defined benefits. Fault is assessed by the scheme, not by you at the roadside.
• Confusing CTP with comprehensive. They solve different problems. You need CTP by law; you need vehicle cover to protect your finances.
• Forgetting the green slip refund when you sell. A few hundred dollars, unclaimed, on a policy you no longer need.

CTP and green slips: frequently asked questions

Official sources by state

CTP prices and scheme rules are set by government and change on published dates. These are the authoritative pages for each jurisdiction — always confirm current figures here rather than relying on a comparison site.

Where to go next

CTP is only the compulsory floor. To protect the vehicles themselves, see what each level of cover costs in our car insurance cost guide — comprehensive averages $2,226 a year nationally, and third party property starts around $400. For the wider picture on what things cost here, see the cost of living in Australia price guide.

Where CTP sits in your bill: in every state except NSW it is collected inside your registration. See the full breakdown, state by state, in our car registration cost guide — including what each charge on the notice actually is.