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In Western Australia, compulsory third party insurance is part of Motor Injury Insurance, which you pay with your vehicle licence (registration) through the Department of Transport. It is provided by the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA), so there is no insurer to choose and no price to compare.
Your registration buys two things: Compulsory Third Party cover, which is fault-based, and the Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme, which is no-fault but only for catastrophic injuries. Between them is the gap WA drivers most need to know about: if you cause a crash and your injuries are not catastrophic, your own injuries are not covered.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team ยท Last reviewed
| Western Australia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Motor Injury Insurance: Compulsory Third Party plus the Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme |
| Provider | Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA) |
| Can you choose an insurer? | No |
| How you pay | With your vehicle licence (registration), through the Department of Transport |
| Fault basis (CTP) | Fault-based: a driver of a WA-registered vehicle must be completely or partly at fault |
| Catastrophic injuries | No-fault treatment, care and support through the Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme, for crashes in WA on or after 1 July 2016 |
| Not covered | Vehicle and property damage; non-catastrophic injuries where no other driver was negligent |
| Crash reporting | Injury and fatal crashes must be reported to ICWA and WA Police online |
| Legislation | Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 |
When you pay your car registration (called a vehicle licence in WA), you also pay for Motor Injury Insurance. ICWA's policy page describes two parts: Compulsory Third Party insurance and the Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme. ICWA publishes a premium schedule setting out what you are required to pay, and your renewal shows the Motor Injury Insurance amount separately.
Registration and Motor Injury Insurance must be current whenever you or anyone else drives the car. To pay or renew, you go to the Department of Transport, not the Insurance Commission.
The policy protects you against liability for the cost of injury and death caused to other people anywhere in Australia by any driver of your registered vehicle. It pays for the injured person's:
The second part of your policy covers the necessary and reasonable care and support, including treatment and rehabilitation, of people catastrophically injured in a motor vehicle crash in Western Australia. It is no-fault. It covers you as the driver if you are catastrophically injured and no other driver was negligent, and it covers anyone else catastrophically injured where no driver was negligent. If another driver was at fault, their CTP responds instead.
The scheme applies to motor vehicle crashes in WA on or after 1 July 2016 (and, since 1 July 2024, to catastrophic workplace injuries). In some cases support continues for life.
ICWA says you can claim for support if you were a driver and the other vehicle's driver caused the crash, or if you were a passenger, pedestrian, cyclist or scooter rider and the driver was at fault. The at-fault vehicle has to be registered in Western Australia. You may not be able to claim if:
If you were partly responsible you may still claim, but the support or compensation can be reduced. ICWA's examples: not wearing a seatbelt, driving under the influence, travelling with a driver you knew was under the influence, driving at an unsafe speed, and not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle or bicycle. If the at-fault vehicle is unidentified or unlicensed, you may still be able to claim.
ICWA lists conditions for the policy to be valid. Breaching them puts your cover at risk:
Get treatment straight away; you do not need to report the crash first. Then gather the details (time, date, what happened, names and addresses of drivers, injured people and witnesses, photos or dash cam footage) and report the crash online. ICWA says the form takes about 40 minutes, is easier on a laptop and cannot be saved part-way.
Once it is assessed, you receive a treatment number and a digital claiming card, so providers can be paid directly. Anyone else injured in the crash, including child passengers through a parent or guardian, must lodge their own injury notification. When the claim is finalised you may need to repay Medicare for benefits it paid. See CTP claims by state to compare.
Because WA's CTP is fault-based, a driver who causes a crash, or who crashes alone, has no CTP cover for non-catastrophic injuries. Private health insurance, income protection and personal accident cover are the usual ways to fill that gap. And like every CTP scheme, it never pays for vehicle damage: see car insurance in WA for cover that does.
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. When you pay your vehicle licence (registration), you also pay Motor Injury Insurance, which includes Compulsory Third Party cover and the Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme.
No. Motor Injury Insurance is provided by the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, and there is no alternative insurer to choose.
Not for non-catastrophic injuries. CTP covers the people you injure. If you are catastrophically injured and no other driver was negligent, the Catastrophic Injuries Support Scheme covers your care and support.
Damage to vehicles or other property, and non-catastrophic injuries in crashes where no other driver was negligent, including single-vehicle crashes.
The Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA). You pay it through the Department of Transport with your registration.
Generally not. ICWA says the at-fault vehicle must be registered in Western Australia. If it was licensed interstate, the claim is made against that vehicle's CTP insurer or scheme.
