Compulsory third party insurance covers injury to people — drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists — caused by your vehicle. It is required to register a car anywhere in Australia and cannot be opted out of.
It is also the part of Australian car insurance that differs most from state to state. In some states you choose your CTP insurer and pay them directly; in others it is bundled into registration and there is no choice at all.
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT let you pick a licensed CTP insurer, so prices and any bundled benefits are worth comparing. Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory run single-scheme models — the TAC, ICWA, MAIB and MACA respectively — where the charge is set and collected with registration and there is nothing to shop for. Knowing which model your state uses tells you immediately whether comparing is even possible.
CTP pays for injury only. It does nothing for damage to any vehicle or property, including your own car and the car you hit. This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in Australian motoring: people believe registration has insured them, then discover after an accident that the repair bill is entirely theirs. Property damage needs a separate policy, at minimum third party property damage.
New South Wales calls it a Green Slip. Victoria collects it as the TAC charge. Queensland, South Australia and the ACT call it CTP. Western Australia calls it Motor Injury Insurance. Tasmania runs it through the Motor Accidents Insurance Board and the Northern Territory through the Motor Accidents Compensation Act scheme. Different names, same compulsory purpose.
No. CTP covers injury to people only. Damage to any vehicle or property, yours or anyone else's, needs separate cover — at minimum third party property damage.
In New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT, yes. In Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, CTP is provided through a single state scheme and collected with registration, so there is no choice to make.
It is the New South Wales name for CTP insurance. You need one before you can register a vehicle in NSW, and you can choose which licensed insurer to buy it from.
Medicare Levy Surcharge thresholds and government rebate percentages are reviewed regularly, so this page does not quote them. For the current figures see the ATO and the government's privatehealth.gov.au.
