Map5At work
Crashes at work: where the two schemes meet
If you were hurt in a crash while working, or on the way to or from work, two schemes may be involved: the motor accident scheme and workers compensation. Which one leads is set differently in each state, and several schemes say plainly that you cannot draw on both for the same crash.
General information, not legal advice. Each scheme sets its own rules and they change. Check the scheme for the state or territory where the crash happened: MAIC (Qld), SIRA (NSW), TAC (Vic), CTP Insurance Regulator (SA), Insurance Commission of WA, MAIB (Tas), ACT MAI Commission and NT MACC.
A1Two kinds of trip
The schemes separate the journey to work from driving as part of the work. Victoria’s TAC defines both:
- A journey accident happens while travelling, for example between home and work, to a trade school or training your employer expects you to attend, or between two employers.
- A “during the course of work” accident happens while you were travelling for the purposes of your job, or during a recess your employer authorised after you had been at work earlier that day.
WorkCover Queensland draws a similar line for workers compensation. Travel between home and your workplace, to or from job-related training, or to medical appointments under an existing claim can be covered, as long as there are no significant interruptions or detours. If you are hurt before leaving home, you have not started the work journey and cannot be compensated for it.
B2The junction, state by state
| Where | What the scheme pages say | Workers compensation body |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | If the crash is work-related, you will also need to make a workers compensation claim. Tell your employer as soon as possible; if you can’t, you can contact their insurer, and the Independent Review Office can tell you who that is. | SIRA |
| VIC | Journey accidents: TAC compensation is payable unless the accident is covered by another scheme. Course-of-work accidents: in most cases covered by WorkCover, not the TAC; if WorkCover rejects the claim, make a TAC claim. | WorkSafe Victoria |
| QLD | WorkCover Queensland covers some injuries while travelling to, from or for work. Separately, CTP claims go to the insurer of the vehicle that caused the crash. | WorkCover Queensland |
| SA | The CTP Regulator pages read for this guide do not deal with work trips. The CTP insurer and ReturnToWorkSA can say how the two meet. | ReturnToWorkSA |
| WA | The Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme may cover serious injuries from a workplace accident on or after 1 July 2024, as well as motor vehicle accidents. | WorkCover WA |
| TAS | The MAIB’s exclusions include an injured person who is covered under workers compensation insurance. | WorkSafe Tasmania |
| ACT | You cannot receive MAI defined benefits for a motor accident while also receiving workers compensation for the same accident. | WorkSafe ACT |
| NT | People injured in a motor vehicle accident in the course of their employment are not covered by MAC, but may be eligible for workers compensation. | NT WorkSafe |
C3A worked example in Victoria
Victoria publishes the most detail, so it makes the clearest example. The person below is invented.
Example, made up for illustration
During the shift. A courier is hit at an intersection halfway through a delivery round. The TAC gives a courier in a collision during working hours as its own example of a “course” accident: the worker receives no-fault workers compensation benefits from the Victorian WorkCover Authority, and may be entitled to common law damages from the TAC when the crash involves a registered Victorian vehicle.
Those damages have a threshold. Where the accident is a transport accident, the worker must have a 30% impairment or a “serious injury” under the Transport Accident Act 1986 to seek common law damages.
On the drive home. If the same courier is hurt driving home after the shift, that is a journey accident, and TAC compensation is payable unless another scheme covers it.
The real answer for any one crash turns on the facts, and WorkSafe, the TAC or a lawyer can say which applies.
D4Loading, unloading and other uses of a vehicle
Not every work injury involving a vehicle is a crash on the road. The TAC’s example is a worker crushed by a forklift while unloading goods. Where the employer owns the vehicle, two insurances can cover the same risk, the transport accident cover and the employer’s WorkCover insurance, and common law damages are shared between the TAC and WorkSafe or its insurer. The TAC calls this dual insurance.
If the injury arose from using a vehicle but was not a transport accident, the TAC says the worker does not need to meet the 30% or serious-injury threshold to start a common law action.
E5Self-employed people
Workers compensation is built around employees, so the self-employed sit differently. The TAC may pay compensation to a self-employed person travelling to or from a job, or between two jobs. In Tasmania, the MAIB pays a Self-Employed Person’s Allowance, for up to 104 weeks, to an eligible self-employed person medically certified as wholly unfit for their usual work.
F6Questions for the junction
- Was I travelling to or from work, or working, when it happened?
- Does my employer’s workers compensation insurer need to hear about it, and by when?
- If both schemes might apply, which one leads, and can benefits from one reduce the other?
- Does a common law claim for damages exist here, and what threshold applies?
These are questions for the insurer, the state regulator or a lawyer. In New South Wales, SIRA points workers to the Independent Review Office for help with questions about the insurer.