Car accident in South Melbourne

The first few minutes matter more than anything that follows. Get everyone out of the traffic, check whether anybody is hurt, and call Triple Zero if there is any doubt about that — an ambulance you did not need is a much smaller problem than the reverse.

Once people are safe, the job is evidence. Photographs of where the vehicles ended up, before anything is moved, are worth more than any account written afterwards, because they cannot be argued with. The other driver’s name, registration and insurer are the details people most often leave without, and the ones that are hardest to get later.

Victoria runs its own compulsory third party scheme with its own deadlines and its own regulator, and they genuinely differ between states — what applies in Victoria is not what applies across the border. The Victoria guide sets out the scheme, the reporting rules and the time limits, with links to the primary sources rather than our summary of them.

If your car cannot be driven, the tow is the decision with money attached. Read the authority to tow before signing it: it says where the vehicle is going and what you are being charged, and a holding yard you did not choose accrues storage daily. Where the car is repaired is a separate decision and usually yours to make.