What you can claim
If your injuries have affected your ability to work, you may be eligible to claim compensation for economic loss (the loss of, or reduction in, earning capacity). This applies after the first week that you were unable to work (or work to the same extent or hours as you did before the accident) because of your injuries, under Section 54(1) of the Civil Liability Act 1936 (the CL Act).
Assessing your economic loss
Assessing your economic loss takes into consideration past or future impairment of earning capacity and loss of opportunity (such as overtime, promotions or new jobs). You will need to provide proof of your earnings; you should speak to your CTP Insurer (or to your legal representative, if you have one) about what information (such as payslips, tax returns or an employer’ letter) will be required to assess your economic loss.
Eligibility
There is no minimum ISV to claim for income you lost because of your injuries (past economic loss).
However, to receive compensation for loss of income into the future (future economic loss), your dominant injury of the injuries caused by the motor vehicle accident must have an ISV of 8-100, required under Section 56A(2) of the CL Act.
Economic loss payments
Under Section 56A(5) of the CL Act, all compensation payments for loss or impairment of earning capacity are subject to a fixed discount reduction of 20% (applied after any other reductions for contributory negligence or fixed statutory reductions).
The total amount of compensation that you can receive for loss of earning capacity (excluding interest on past economic loss) is not to exceed a prescribed maximum which is indexed annually and is shown in the Table of Prescribed Maximum Economic Loss.
Interest may be claimed on past economic loss but cannot be claimed for non-economic or future loss, according to Section 56 of the CL Act.
More information
Expand the boxes below to find out more about calculating compensation for economic loss.
If you were an employee at the date of the accident and you are unable to work for a period of time after the accident (or worked reduced hours/lost usual overtime/ or went on alternative duties at a lower salary), your CTP Insurer may reimburse this loss on resolution of your claim. You must provide your CTP Insurer with proof of your earnings (both prior to and after the accident).
Generally, your lost income is calculated from your after-tax income. The first week of your loss of earnings is excluded from compensation, under Section 54(1) of the CL Act.
If you were self-employed at the date of the accident, you should speak to your CTP Insurer for information specific to your circumstances. If your spouse or domestic partner is also your business partner, they may be eligible to make a claim for their financial loss as a result of your accident-related injuries (refer to Section 66 of the CL Act).
If you were not working at the time of the accident and you were taking time off between jobs or intended to go back to work in the future (but are prevented from doing so because of your injuries), you will need to provide the CTP Insurer with proof of any previous income, such as letters from past/prospective future employers and tax returns.
Your entitlement to future economic loss or impairment of future earning capacity may be based on a chance of that future loss occurring and a court or your CTP Insurer must apply these legislative provisions when calculating that loss (see Section 56A[4] of the CL Act for more information).
If you receive compensation for economic loss, any lost superannuation contributions will be added to the amount you receive. This is calculated using the Australian Tax Office's Superannuation Guarantee Rate.
If your employer was paying your super at a higher rate, you will need to give your CTP Insurer proof of this higher rate. For example, you could provide a copy of your employment contract, payslips, or the relevant Industry Award/Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).
If you were self-employed at the time of the accident, and were paying yourself superannuation, you'll need to provide proof of this to your insurer.
