Map3Motorcycles
Motorcycle crashes and the injury schemes
Motorcycles and their riders are named on the scheme pages for New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and the Northern Territory, so what a rider can claim depends mostly on the state and, in the fault-based schemes, on who caused the crash. Registering the bike pays for its compulsory injury cover (in Queensland’s words, CTP insurance is paid when you register your vehicle), and in Queensland the levy for the no-fault serious-injury scheme was raised for motorcycles in 2023.
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.
A1Riders and pillions, scheme by scheme
| Scheme | Riders and pillions | If the rider caused the crash |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | “Riders and pillion passengers” are listed among those who can claim. | Treatment, care and income support can be applied for regardless of fault. |
| VIC | Accidents caused by the driving of a motorcycle are transport accidents for TAC claims. | No-fault: you can claim even if the accident was your fault. |
| QLD | Claims are made against the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the accident. | CTP does not cover injuries to the at-fault driver; the no-fault NIISQ may help with eligible serious injuries. |
| SA | A claim will generally be accepted if a South Australian vehicle caused the crash, someone other than the injured person was at least partly responsible, and the crash happened less than three years ago; anyone under 16 at the time is covered even if they caused it. After six months you will need to explain the delay to the insurer, and after three years a claim will generally not be accepted unless very limited legal exceptions apply. | Serious injuries may be covered by the Lifetime Support Scheme even if the CTP claim is not accepted. |
| WA | The Insurance Commission says you can claim if you were driving and the other driver caused the crash. | Catastrophic injuries are covered when no other driver was negligent. |
| TAS | Treatment and support are paid for eligible people regardless of fault. | Lump-sum common law compensation needs someone else to be at fault. |
| ACT | Pillion riders are named among the people a vehicle’s MAI insurer covers in a single-vehicle accident. | Defined benefits are available whoever was at fault. |
| NT | The MAC Scheme covers all road users, including motorbike riders. | No-fault scheme. |
B2The single-vehicle crash
Picture a rider alone on a country road: a bend taken too fast, loose gravel, a kangaroo. With no other vehicle involved, the schemes give quite different answers.
- Queensland says a person may not be able to claim through CTP if they were totally at fault or if no one was at fault, giving a single-vehicle accident involving only your vehicle as its example.
- The ACT sends a single-vehicle claim to the MAI insurer of the vehicle involved, and calls a crash caused by a kangaroo a “blameless accident”, claimed through the insurer of your own vehicle.
- Victoria and the Northern Territory are no-fault schemes, so the absence of another driver does not by itself close the door.
- Western Australia’s Catastrophic Injuries Support covers you, as the driver, if you are catastrophically injured and no other driver in the crash was negligent. Non-catastrophic injuries where no other driver was negligent are not covered by the policy.
C3Serious injuries and the lifetime schemes
Alongside the CTP schemes, several states run separate no-fault schemes for the most serious injuries. They matter to riders because they can apply when the rider caused the crash.
- QLD
The National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ) provides necessary and reasonable lifetime treatment, care and support for eligible serious injuries in motor vehicle accidents on Queensland roads on or after 1 July 2016, regardless of fault.
MAIC says the NIISQ levy was increased in 2023 for motorcycles (registration classes 12 and 13) to fund riders’ lifetime care, and that single-seat and two-seat motorcycles are overrepresented among NIISQ participants.
- WA
The Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme is no-fault. Anyone seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident in WA on or after 1 July 2016 may be eligible.
- SA
The Lifetime Support Scheme covers eligible injuries: moderate to severe brain injury, spinal cord injury, severe burns, blindness and amputation.
New South Wales works differently: SIRA describes CTP Care within its CTP scheme, which provides long-term treatment and care for people who need support beyond five years.
D4Helmets, licences and the fine print
A few rules bite riders in particular.
- Helmet. Western Australia gives not wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle or bicycle as an example of being partly at fault, which can reduce support or compensation.
- Licence. Tasmania’s MAIB lists, among its exclusions, an injured driver who does not hold a licence of the appropriate class.
- Alcohol. In Tasmania the Employed Person’s Allowance and the Self-Employed Person’s Allowance are reduced, or may not be paid, if the injured driver is convicted of exceeding a 0.05 blood alcohol reading or a similar offence.
- Serious offences. Victoria’s TAC cannot pay compensation other than medical and like benefits to a driver later convicted of culpable or dangerous driving causing death.
E5Trail bikes and unregistered bikes
Off-road riding is where cover most often runs out.
- Northern Territory: the driver, rider and owner of unregistered vehicles such as motocross bikes, quad bikes and dune buggies are not covered. A vehicle unregistered for more than three months in a single-vehicle accident is excluded, as is a conditionally registered vehicle used outside its conditions.
- Tasmania: not every vehicle has to be registered by law, but an MAIB premium can be bought for eligible off-road vehicles; the MAIB’s rule is short: “If there is no premium, there is no cover.”
- Victoria: the TAC cannot pay compensation for a transport accident involving an unregistered vehicle, or to the owner of an uninsured vehicle, where the accident happened on private land. It also excludes organised motor races, tests and speed trials.
F6The bike and the gear
The schemes pay for injuries. The TAC does not cover damage to a motorbike, towing or storage, or damage to non-medical personal items such as motorcycle gear. Tasmania’s MAIB does not pay for loss of or damage to personal effects such as clothing.
On gear before a crash rather than after: MAIC in Queensland co-funds MotoCAP, a free resource that rates motorcycle protective clothing.
Questions for the scheme or a lawyer
- Was another driver even partly at fault, and how is that decided?
- If I caused the crash, which no-fault benefits are still open to me?
- Does my injury meet the serious-injury scheme’s criteria?
- Was the bike registered and insured for the way I was using it?