Map2On foot and on bikes

Hit by a car on foot or on a bike

If a motor vehicle hit you while you were walking or riding, the motor accident scheme of the state or territory where it happened is the place to start, and most schemes name pedestrians and cyclists outright. The harder cases are the crashes with no motor vehicle in them: in several states a collision caused by a bicycle or an e-scooter is outside the scheme altogether.

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.

A1Three kinds of collision

For people outside a vehicle, the question the schemes ask first is not who you are but what hit you. This map page sorts the rules into three collisions.

The three collisions, in the schemes’ own terms
Collision	Where the schemes stand	On this page
Car hits you	Covered in some form on every scheme’s pages. In Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia a CTP claim generally needs a driver to be at least partly at fault, though South Australia covers anyone under 16 even if they caused the accident (a claim made more than three years after the accident is generally not accepted unless very limited legal exceptions apply), and each of the three has a separate scheme for eligible serious injuries, set out in B2.	B2
You hit a parked car	Victoria names it: a cyclist who collided with a stationary motor vehicle on or after 9 July 2014 can claim.	C3
A bike or e-scooter hits you	Outside the CTP scheme in South Australia, and unlikely to be accepted in Queensland, because those devices are not motor vehicles that can be registered.	D4

B2When a motor vehicle hits you

NSW: Anyone injured in a motor crash in NSW can claim, and SIRA lists pedestrians and cyclists by name.
VIC: A pedestrian, cyclist or e-scooter or e-bike rider injured in an accident caused by the driving of a motor vehicle, motorcycle, bus, train or tram can claim with the TAC.
QLD: The claim is against the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident; if you were partly at fault, you can still claim but the compensation may be reduced. Separately, the no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ) supports people with eligible serious injuries from motor vehicle accidents on Queensland roads on or after 1 July 2016, regardless of fault.
SA: A cyclist or device rider injured in a motor vehicle accident may lodge a claim against the at-fault vehicle’s CTP insurer. Anyone under 16 when the accident happened is covered even if they caused it (a claim made more than three years after the accident is generally not accepted unless very limited legal exceptions apply), and a seriously injured person may get support from the Lifetime Support Scheme even when the CTP claim is not accepted.
WA: The Insurance Commission says you can claim if you were a pedestrian, cyclist or scooter rider and the driver of the vehicle was at fault. You may not be able to if a pedestrian, cyclist or scooter rider caused the accident. Separately, anyone seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in WA on or after 1 July 2016 may be eligible for the no-fault Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme.
TAS: The MAIB pays for treatment and support for eligible people regardless of fault, and its off-road vehicles page counts pedestrians among the people it may pay.
ACT: Defined benefits are available regardless of fault. In a single-vehicle accident, pedestrians and cyclists apply to the MAI insurer of the vehicle involved.
NT: The no-fault MAC Scheme covers all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.

A suburban intersection seen from directly above, with footpaths, kerbs and line markings and no traffic. — Where footpaths meet roads. Photo by Iain on Unsplash

C3When you ride into a parked car

A rider can be hurt with no moving vehicle involved, by riding into a parked car or an opened door. Victoria is the scheme that says so in terms: since 9 July 2014 a cyclist who collided with a stationary motor vehicle can make a TAC claim.

The other schemes’ pages read here do not mention parked cars. Whether a collision with a stationary vehicle counts there is a question for the scheme itself.

Two routes, made up for illustration

Melbourne. A rider is cut off by a car door swinging open on a city street and is hurt. That looks like the TAC’s description of a cyclist colliding with a stationary motor vehicle; the TAC can confirm.

Perth. A person crossing at a corner is struck by a turning car. In Western Australia the Insurance Commission asks people to report the crash at crashreport.com.au, and a passenger, pedestrian or cyclist can claim when the driver was at fault.

D4When the other party is a bike or an e-scooter

The schemes are paid for through vehicle registration (that is how Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory describe their funding), and a bicycle or a private e-scooter usually sits outside them.

South Australia: accidents caused by bicycles or personal mobility devices, including e-scooters and e-bikes, are not covered by CTP insurance because they are not motor vehicles. You may be able to claim against the rider or their insurer, if they have a policy, and an injury caused by a hire e-scooter may be claimable against the operator’s public liability insurance.
Queensland: if the at-fault vehicle is not eligible for registration, such as an e-bike or scooter, a CTP claim is unlikely to be accepted.
Tasmania: e-scooters, electric skateboards, e-bikes, push bikes and skateboards cannot currently be insured through the MAIB.
Northern Territory: people hurt using a hire e-scooter or e-bike should lodge a claim with the scooter company, and may be able to claim on the MAC Scheme once that policy is exhausted. Riders and owners of privately owned e-scooters are among those not covered.
Western Australia: you may not be able to claim if a pedestrian, cyclist or scooter rider caused the accident.

E5Helmets and a share of the blame

In Western Australia, not wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle or motorcycle is one of the Insurance Commission’s examples of being partly at fault. Being partly at fault does not end a claim there, but it can reduce the support or compensation.

In the no-fault schemes the question of blame matters less to the early benefits, but it can still matter later: Tasmania’s lump-sum common law compensation, for example, needs someone else to be at fault or partly at fault.

F6The bike, the phone and the clothes

These schemes are about injuries. The TAC does not cover damage to a bicycle, scooter or other transport, nor damage to non-medical personal items such as clothes and mobile phones, though it can pay to replace or repair damaged glasses or dentures. Queensland’s CTP does not cover damage to property.

A damaged bike is a property matter, outside these schemes, and a lawyer or the other driver’s insurer can say whether it can be recovered.