Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance is mandatory for all registered vehicles in Western Australia and is automatically included when you pay your vehicle registration through the Department of Transport. Administered by the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, CTP insurance provides critical personal injury coverage for motor vehicle accidents, distinct from property damage insurance.
Essential facts about WA’s CTP insurance system:
What CTP Insurance Covers:
- Personal injury compensation: Covers costs when you negligently injure or fatally injure another person in a motor vehicle accident, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists
- Compensation categories: Pain and suffering, past and future loss of wages, medical treatment and rehabilitation, care and support needs, and claims management expenses
- Catastrophic Injuries Support (CIS): Provides lifetime treatment, care, and support for catastrophically injured persons in motor vehicle accidents, regardless of who was at fault
- Coverage commencement: Both schemes have operated since 2016 and activate upon vehicle registration payment
What CTP Does NOT Cover:
- Vehicle damage or property damage from accidents (requires separate third-party property or comprehensive insurance)
- Unlicensed vehicles (drivers of unregistered vehicles face fines and personal liability for all damages)
CTP Insurance Costs in WA:
- Premiums are determined by vehicle type and age, reviewed annually by the Insurance Commission
- Cost is included in vehicle registration fees (payable every 3, 6, or 12 months)
- Example: Standard motor car registration includes CTP premium of $457.55 per year (2021/2022 rates, including GST and insurance duty)
Who Can Make a CTP Claim:
- Drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or cyclists injured when another party was fully or partially at fault
- Families of fatally injured persons (dependency claims)
- Catastrophically injured persons unable to establish fault (through CIS scheme)
- Claims available regardless of whether you were partly at fault
Additional Insurance Options for Complete Protection:
- Third-party property insurance: Covers damage to other vehicles and property
- Third-party fire and theft: Adds coverage for fire or theft damage to your vehicle
- Comprehensive insurance: Covers your vehicle and others’ property for accidents, theft, fire, weather, and malicious damage
Critical Compliance Requirement: Driving an unregistered vehicle in WA results in substantial fines and excludes you from CTP coverage, leaving you personally liable for all injury and property damages caused in an accident. Vehicle owners are responsible for ensuring current registration regardless of whether reminder notices are received.
Understanding WA’s CTP system ensures you meet legal obligations whilst recognising what additional coverage may be necessary to protect your financial interests in the event of a motor vehicle accident.
Do you need Compulsory Third-Party insurance in WA?
As you can guess by the name, CTP insurance is compulsory in WA. The Insurance Commission of Western Australia provides CTP insurance as part of your motor injury insurance. When you register your car with the Department of Transport, you pay for your CTP. Vehicle registration is also compulsory to drive on public roads in WA.
In WA, what does Compulsory Third Party insurance cover?
If you negligently hurt or fatally injure someone in a car or motor vehicle accident, CTP insurance covers the cost of claims made against you.
According to the Insurance Commission, this can include:
- compensation (for pain and suffering)
- loss of wages (past and future)
- claims management expenses (the cost of defending the claim)
- care and support (medical treatment and rehabilitation).
In Western Australia, motor injury insurance also includes Catastrophic Injuries Support cover. If you are catastrophically injured in a motor vehicle accident CIS covers the cost of lifetime treatment, care, and support.
However, CTP insurance doesn’t cover damages caused to vehicles or property from a vehicle crash. Which means that if you’re responsible for an accident, you might end up having to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for the damage to other cars or property. Consider investing in a comprehensive car insurance policy to protect you from this liability and ensure vehicle or property damage is covered.
When does CTP start?
CTP commences when you pay vehicle registration and involves two components:
- The Compulsory Third Party insurance scheme: covers costs involved in personal injury or death caused to others by any driver of a licensed vehicle found to be at fault.
- The Catastrophic Injury Support insurance scheme: covers costs of the necessary and reasonable treatment, care, and support of anyone catastrophically hurt in a vehicle crash, regardless of fault.
These two schemes have provided cover for injury and death directly arising from motor vehicle accidents since 2016.
Other Types of vehicle insurance
- Third-party car insurance: covers you most costs (damage, legal costs, repairs) to other motor vehicles or property in an accident.
- Third-party with fire and theft: covers any vehicular damage caused by fire or theft.
- Comprehensive car insurance: usually covers the repair and replacement of your car due to fire, theft, malicious damage, accidental damage, and weather-related damage, along with the repair and replacement of any other vehicles or property damaged by your car in an accident.
How much is CTP insurance in WA?
Typically, motor injury insurance costs relate to your vehicle’s type and age. CTP premiums are reviewed each year and amended to match variations. For example, for 2021/2022, motor injury insurance premiums for motor cars are $457.55 for 12 months. This cost includes GST and insurance duty.
Driving an unlicensed vehicle on the road could result in your receiving a hefty fine, so don’t take the risk. Also, keep in mind that Third-Party Insurance doesn’t cover unlicensed cars, so if you do drive an unlicensed car on the road and then have a crash, you’ll be liable for any damage caused to property or person.
Renew your vehicle registration either every three, six, or twelve months. Typically, you’ll receive a reminder notice by post, but this is just a courtesy. It’s your responsibility to ensure your vehicle’s licence is current.
The Department of Transport’s website has more details about how to renew your vehicle licence.
How to make a CTP insurance claim in WA?
Do you have a car accident injury? You can claim if you were not at fault or only partly at fault, whether you are a driver, passenger, pedestrian, or cyclist. If a close relative was fatally injured in the crash, you could also make what is known as a dependency claim.
If you are catastrophically injured and unable to establish the fault of another driver, you can claim Catastrophic Injuries Support.
Finding a car accident lawyer in Perth
The Soul Legal team has extensive experience assisting injured victims of motor vehicle accidents or car accidents in Perth. We understand the legalities surrounding compensation for motor vehicle accidents and will be upfront and honest about the likelihood of your claim’s success. Don’t suffer alone if you have suffered injury, whiplash, or expense due to a motor vehicle accident.
Choose Soul Legal – experienced car accident lawyers
Soul Legal are experienced car accident lawyers who can help you with your motor vehicle accident claim. We’ll take the stress, worry, and confusion out of managing your motor vehicle accident personal injury claims or car accident compensation claims in Perth. Ask us about our NO WIN – NO FEE guarantee. We offer this in Motor Vehicle Claims, Worker’s Compensation Claims, Criminal Injuries Compensation Claims, Public Liability, and Product Liability Claims.
Contact one of our Perth motor injury lawyers at Soul Legal today for your FREE no-obligation claims assessment.
Kevin Wong is the Director of Soul Legal and a seasoned Perth-based personal injury lawyer who has been passionately representing injured clients across Western Australia since 1991, handling everything from minor claims to complex catastrophic injury cases.
