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In Queensland, compulsory third party (CTP) insurance is paid as part of your vehicle registration through the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR), but you still choose which insurer gets it. Three insurers are currently licensed: Suncorp, Allianz and QBE. The policy is the same at all three, set by the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994, while the premium for your class of vehicle can differ between them.
Queensland's scheme is fault-based, and that is the detail most drivers miss. If you cause a crash, or nobody was at fault, CTP does not pay for your own injuries. This page explains who sells CTP, how prices are set, how to change insurer and what is covered.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team · Last reviewed
| Queensland | |
|---|---|
| Name | CTP (compulsory third party) insurance |
| Regulator | Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) |
| Licensed insurers | 3: AAI Limited trading as Suncorp, Allianz and QBE |
| Can you choose? | Yes. Nominate an insurer through DTMR; a change applies from your next registration renewal |
| How you pay | With your registration, to DTMR, which passes the premium to your nominated insurer |
| How the price is set | Community-rated. Each insurer sets a premium per vehicle class every quarter, within minimum and maximum limits set by MAIC. Drivers' ages and records, and the vehicle's age and location, do not change it |
| Fault basis | Fault-based (common law). No CTP claim for your own injuries if you were totally at fault or no one was at fault |
| Most serious injuries | National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ), funded by a levy in every CTP premium |
| Official price comparison | MAIC's Compare pricing tool |
| Uninsured or unidentified vehicles | Claims go to the Nominal Defendant |
MAIC lists three licensed CTP insurers. Two former insurers still appear on its list because they manage old claims: RACQ stopped selling new CTP policies from 1 October 2023, and NRMA stopped being a licensed Queensland CTP insurer on 1 January 2014. If your registration certificate still shows one of them, your CTP will move to one of the current three.
| Insurer | Phone for CTP quotes and policies (as listed by MAIC) |
|---|---|
| AAI Limited, trading as Suncorp | 13 11 60 |
| Allianz Australia Insurance Limited | 1800 816 868 |
| QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited | (07) 3859 5666 |
Queensland uses community rating. MAIC explains that owners of a particular class of vehicle pay the same CTP premium regardless of drivers' ages, driving records or the age and location of the vehicle. A 19-year-old P-plater and a retiree with a spotless record pay the same for the same class of car with the same insurer. That keeps CTP affordable for higher-risk drivers, and it also means there is nothing to gain from shopping around on your personal details.
What does differ is the insurer. Each insurer sets its premium for every vehicle class every quarter, within a floor and ceiling set by MAIC. The floor keeps premiums high enough to pay injury claims; the ceiling keeps them affordable. Vehicle classes are grouped by type and use: class 1 is cars and station wagons, class 6 is trucks, utes and vans of 4.5 tonnes GVM or less, and classes 12 and 13 are motorcycles without and with a pillion or sidecar.
The CTP amount on your registration notice is more than the insurer's premium. It also carries levies and a DTMR administration fee, recalculated each financial year. The 2026–27 amounts apply to registration payments from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
| Component | What it pays for |
|---|---|
| Insurer's premium | Claims made by people injured through the negligent driving of the vehicle. Set by the insurer within MAIC's limits |
| Statutory Insurance Scheme levy | The cost of administering the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994, plus research into accident prevention and injury mitigation |
| Administration fee | DTMR's administrative support for the scheme |
| Hospital and Emergency Services levy | A share of the public hospital and emergency service costs of people injured in crashes |
| NIISQ levy | Lifetime treatment, care and support under the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland |
| Nominal Defendant levy | Claims involving uninsured (unregistered) or unidentified vehicles |
MAIC's Compare pricing tool shows what each insurer charges for your vehicle class. You need three things from your registration renewal notice: your vehicle class, your GST status (a business that uses the vehicle for business purposes may be able to claim the GST back as an input tax credit) and the due date, which is the same as your registration due date.
You can nominate a new insurer at any time while the vehicle is registered, but the change only takes effect from the start of your next registration period. Once you pay a renewal, the insurer at the time of payment stays your insurer until that period ends. If you do nothing, you stay with the insurer shown on your certificate of registration.
Because the policy and the community-rated premium structure are fixed, insurers compete on price and on extras. MAIC notes that some insurers offer incentives such as gift cards or discounts on other insurance they sell, such as home or comprehensive car insurance. Treat those as a bonus rather than a reason to pay a noticeably higher premium, and read the conditions before counting on a discount.
If someone driving your Queensland-registered vehicle causes or partly causes an accident that injures someone else anywhere in Australia, your CTP pays for their medical treatment, rehabilitation and compensation. If someone dies, it can cover reasonable funeral costs and compensation for dependants. People who were partly responsible for their own injuries can still claim, but the amount is reduced.
MAIC is explicit about the gaps. CTP does not cover damage to any vehicle or property, injuries you suffer in a crash where you were totally at fault, or injuries in a crash where no one was at fault, such as a single-vehicle accident. That last group catches out many people: hitting a kangaroo on a country road generally leaves your own injuries outside Queensland CTP. Health insurance, income protection or personal accident cover fill that gap, and comprehensive car insurance covers the car.
Our guide to what CTP insurance covers compares the fault rules in every state.
Every Queensland CTP premium includes a levy for the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland. MAIC describes it as providing necessary and reasonable lifetime treatment, care and support for anyone who sustains a serious personal injury in a motor vehicle accident in Queensland. It sits alongside the fault-based CTP scheme, which is why the most catastrophic injuries are not left to depend on proving someone else was at fault.
You cannot legally drive an unregistered vehicle on a Queensland road without CTP. To drive one to a DTMR customer service centre to register it, you first buy a CTP policy in the correct class from a licensed insurer. To move it for any other reason, DTMR may require an unregistered vehicle permit and a class 22 CTP certificate, both available online.
If you cancel your registration, you may be eligible for a refund of the unused part of the CTP premium from your insurer. The levies are not refundable.
If a vehicle registered in another state injures you in Queensland, you follow the Queensland claims process, but the claim is managed by that vehicle's insurer or scheme in its home state.
The claim goes to the CTP insurer of the vehicle that may have caused the crash. MAIC's Find a vehicle's CTP insurer tool identifies it from the registration number. You lodge a Notice of Accident Claim Form, through the Queensland CTP portal or on paper, and it must be signed in front of an eligible witness.
The deadlines are strict. The form must be lodged by the earliest of 9 months after the accident (or after symptoms first appeared) or 1 month after you first see a lawyer about the claim. If the vehicle cannot be identified, the limit is 3 months. Unlike workers compensation, lost wages are not paid as you go: they are negotiated as part of the settlement. General damages for pain and suffering are calculated using the Injury Scale Value, a 0 to 100 scale. You do not need a lawyer to claim.
See CTP claims by state for a side-by-side view of deadlines.
Every state runs CTP differently. If you are moving or registering a car interstate, check the scheme you are moving into, or see the CTP comparison across all eight.
Yes. In Queensland the CTP premium is part of the vehicle registration cost and is paid to DTMR when you register or renew. DTMR passes the insurer's premium to the licensed insurer you have nominated.
It depends on the vehicle class and the insurer, not on who drives. Each insurer sets a premium for each class every quarter within MAIC's limits, plus levies and a DTMR fee. MAIC's Compare pricing tool shows the current amounts for your class.
The policy is identical at all three licensed insurers because it is contained in the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994. The differences are the premium for your vehicle class, any incentives, and claims service. Compare the premium first, then the extras.
Injuries and deaths that someone driving your Queensland-registered vehicle causes, or partly causes, to other people anywhere in Australia: their treatment, rehabilitation and compensation, plus funeral costs and dependants' claims.
Damage to vehicles or property, your own injuries if you were totally at fault, and injuries in accidents where no one was at fault, such as a single-vehicle crash.
Yes, at any time while the vehicle is registered, online through DTMR, by phone on 13 23 80 or in writing. The change takes effect from the start of your next registration period, and must reach DTMR by the expiry date on your renewal notice to apply to that renewal.
Yes. RACQ stopped providing new Queensland CTP policies from 1 October 2023, but it still manages existing claims and new claims on policies sold before that date.
