Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance protects drivers from the financial impact of causing injury or death as the result of a motor vehicle accident.

Your CTP insurance is paid at the same time as your motor vehicle registration. Just as registration of your vehicle is compulsory, so is CTP insurance.

What is covered?

The Policy of Insurance protects you (and other people who use your registered and insured vehicle, with or without your consent) against the financial impact of causing injury or death to other road users through the use of your vehicle anywhere in Australia.

You are unable to make a claim if you were the driver entirely at fault for the accident. However, most accidents involve some sharing of fault between drivers. If you are unsure, you can lodge a claim with the insurer of the other driver you believe contributed to the accident.

If an unknown or unregistered (and therefore uninsured for CTP) vehicle is involved, the Regulator will provide cover under the Nominal Defendant Scheme and allocate management of your claim to one of the CTP Insurers.

What is not covered?

CTP insurance does not cover:

  • an injured driver who was entirely at-fault in the accident
  • damage to property (including to a vehicle or its contents)
  • the driver of a single vehicle accident, for example if you hit a tree or an animal (with the exception of very serious, lifelong injuries which may be covered under the Lifetime Support Scheme).

Different coverage for a child's claim

The CTP Scheme provides cover for a child under 16 years of age for an accident that occurs in South Australia (for example when the child is an underage driver) for their necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support. This applies regardless of fault. It also applies when the vehicle is registered interstate.

For more information, read our Childrens CTP claims fact sheet.

Lifetime Support Scheme

If you sustain very serious, lifelong injuries in a motor vehicle accident in South Australia, you may be eligible for necessary and reasonable treatment, care and support under the Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS), regardless of fault.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to lodge a CTP claim for compensation if you were not at fault for the accident as well as a claim under the LSS.

Policy of Insurance

Your CTP insurance premium provides cover under a compulsory Policy of Insurance under the Motor Vehicles Act 1959. The minimum terms and conditions of the CTP insurance policy are set by the CTP Regulator.

If you fail to perform the obligations outlined in the Policy of Insurance and your conduct causes an injury, the insurer has the right to potentially recover from you the costs of injury claims arising out of that accident.

For example, failure to perform obligations under the Policy of Insurance include:

  • driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
  • driving dangerously
  • intentionally causing injury
  • driving a vehicle without the owner’s permission
  • driving without a current driver’s licence
  • driving an unroadworthy or overloaded vehicle
  • not stopping after being involved in an accident where somebody was injured or killed (hit and run).

More information

Download a fact sheet about how different motor vehicle accident insurance products work in SA, including CTP insurance, personal injury insurance and motor vehicle property insurance.

Information for motor vehicle owners and drivers is also available.