Accident guides
If anyone is seriously injured or in immediate danger, call Triple Zero (000) now.
Crash Guide is not an emergency service.
Call Triple Zero (000)At the scene
The first hour — safety, details, evidence.
What to do after a car accident in Australia
Check for injuries and move to safety before anything else, and call Triple Zero (000) if anyone is hurt or in danger. Once everyone is safe, exchange names, contact details, registration numbers and insurance details with the other driver, and photograph the scene before vehicles are moved. Then contact your insurer, and record everything you remember while it is fresh.
Car accident checklist
At the scene: check for injuries, make the area safe, exchange details, photograph everything and find witnesses. In the first 24 hours: contact your insurer, arrange towing or repairs if needed, and see a doctor if you have any symptoms. In the first week: lodge your claim, keep every receipt, and follow up anything the insurer has asked for.
What information to get after a car accident
Collect the other driver's full name, mobile number, address, licence number and licence state, plus the vehicle registration, make, model, colour, and their insurer and policy number. Also note whether they own the vehicle. If they refuse to provide details, photograph the registration plate and report the matter to police rather than pressing the issue.
What photos to take after a car accident
Take wide shots of both vehicles where they stopped before anything is moved, then close-ups of the damage to each vehicle, every registration plate, and the traffic signs, signals and lane markings that apply. Finish with road and weather conditions, skid marks and debris. Ten good photos taken in two minutes are worth more than any written statement later.
Fault
Who is responsible, and what that changes.
What if I am not at fault?
If another driver was responsible, you generally have two routes: claim on your own policy and let your insurer recover from theirs, or claim directly against the other party. Being not at fault often affects whether you pay an excess and whether replacement transport is available to you. Fault is assessed by the insurers on the evidence — not decided at the roadside.
What if I am at fault?
If you caused the accident, your comprehensive or third party property policy generally covers damage you caused to the other vehicle, and comprehensive also covers your own. You will usually pay an excess and may lose part of a no-claim discount. If you are uninsured, you may be personally liable for the other party's repair costs.
Not sure who is at fault?
Uncertainty is normal and it is not a problem you have to solve at the roadside. Record the facts accurately, avoid admitting or assigning blame, and let the insurers assess it. Your photographs, the physical damage pattern and any independent witness usually decide a disputed accident.
Hit by an uninsured driver
If you have comprehensive cover, claim on your own policy and let your insurer pursue the other driver. If you only have third party property cover, check your policy for an uninsured motorist provision, which sometimes covers a limited amount of damage caused by an identified uninsured driver. Otherwise, recovery means pursuing the other driver directly.
Your vehicle
Towing, repairs, write-offs and replacement transport.
What to do if your car is not driveable
Arrange a tow and make sure you know exactly where your vehicle is being taken and what it costs to store it there. You choose where your vehicle goes, not the first tow operator who arrives. Then tell your insurer the location, and sort out how you will get around while the vehicle is off the road.
Replacement vehicle after an accident
There are two common routes. If your policy includes a hire car benefit, your insurer arranges it regardless of fault, usually for a limited period and vehicle class. If another party was responsible, specialist accident replacement providers can supply a vehicle and recover the cost from that party. Both are commercial arrangements with terms worth reading before you accept the keys.
Car repairs after an accident
Your insurer assesses the damage, authorises a repairer and agrees a scope of works. Whether you can choose your own repairer depends on your policy. Repairs commonly take longer than first quoted because hidden damage appears once panels come off and parts can be slow. Inspect the vehicle carefully before you accept it back.
What happens if your car is written off
A vehicle is written off when repairing it is uneconomic or it is unsafe to repair. Your insurer pays either an agreed value or a market value, depending on your policy, and takes the vehicle. If you owe more on finance than the payout, you are still responsible for the shortfall unless you have gap cover.
Injury
Getting assessed and recording what matters.
What to do if you are injured in an accident
Get medically assessed even if symptoms seem mild, and tell the doctor it followed a motor accident so the connection is recorded from the beginning. Every state and territory has a compulsory third party scheme covering personal injury, and each has its own process and time limits. Keep a simple record of symptoms, treatment and time off work from day one.
Injured as a passenger in a car accident
As a passenger you are effectively never at fault, so you have a compulsory third party claim no matter which driver caused the accident — including when it was the driver of the car you were in. The compensation comes from that driver’s CTP insurer, not from the driver personally, so claiming does not cost your friend or your family member anything. There are short deadlines in every state, so lodge early even if you are still deciding what you want to do.
My child was injured in a car accident
You claim on your child’s behalf, and two different clocks are running. How they work for a child depends heavily on the state, and the common advice — that everything waits until they turn eighteen — is wrong in several of them, including New South Wales. Notify the scheme now rather than working out which rule applies to you: notifying early is never the thing that costs a child a claim. Get them medically assessed even if they seem fine, and do not settle quickly, because a child’s injuries can take years to show their full extent and a settlement is final.
TPD and income protection in your super after a car accident
Most working Australians have insurance inside their super fund that they were never told about: total and permanent disablement cover, and often income protection as well. If a car accident has left you unable to work, you may be able to claim on it. It is separate from any CTP or workers compensation claim, and unlike those schemes it does not depend on whose fault the accident was — it is assessed on whether you can work, not on who caused the crash. Many people hold cover in more than one fund and can claim on each.
Injured in a car accident while working
Lodge the workers compensation claim first. It does not depend on who caused the accident and it is usually the faster of the two. Whether you also have a motor accident claim, and what kind, depends heavily on which state you work in: in most of the country the scheme’s no-fault benefits are switched off while workers compensation is payable, and what survives is a damages claim against whoever caused the crash. In the Northern Territory there is no damages claim at all. Get advice before settling anything, because the workers compensation insurer takes what it paid out of any damages.
Injured driving to or from work
It depends on the state your employment is connected with, and the answer genuinely differs. New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory cover the ordinary commute. Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth scheme do not. Being on duty is different again and is covered everywhere. Even where the commute is not covered, you may still have a motor accident claim — so a “no” to workers compensation is not a “no” to everything.
Motorcycle accident claims
A motorcycle claim runs like any other motor accident claim, but three things are different and all three cost riders money. Your riding gear is property damaged in the accident and is recoverable — a helmet that has taken an impact must be replaced, and almost nobody claims for it. The road surface is a far more common cause for a rider than for a driver, which can point at the road authority rather than at you. And riders are hurt more seriously than drivers in the same impact, so get checked even if you feel fine.
Hit by a car while walking or cycling
Yes. Compulsory third party insurance covers people injured by a motor vehicle whether or not they were inside one, so a pedestrian or cyclist hit by a car claims against that vehicle’s CTP insurer. You do not need to own a car, hold a licence, or have any insurance of your own — the cover comes from the registration of the vehicle that hit you. Get the registration number if you possibly can; if the vehicle was never identified, your state’s nominal defendant scheme stands in its place.
Insurance
Excess, claims and dealing with insurers.
Common accidents
Rear-end, lane change, roundabout, car park and more.
Hit and run: what to do
Record everything you can about the vehicle immediately — registration, make, colour, damage and direction of travel — then report it to police and get an event number. Look for witnesses and nearby cameras straight away, because footage is usually overwritten within days. Tell your insurer promptly; cover for an unidentified driver depends on your policy.
Rear-end accidents
The following driver is commonly found responsible in a rear-end collision, because drivers are expected to keep enough distance to stop safely. It is not automatic, though — brake lights that were not working, a sudden unnecessary stop, a reversing vehicle or a multi-car chain can all change the assessment. Photograph the damage and note the sequence carefully.
Lane change and merging accidents
A driver changing lanes is generally expected to give way to vehicles already in the lane, so the changing driver often carries responsibility. Merging where lanes end works differently — the rules there turn on which lane is ending and relative position. Where the damage sits on each vehicle is usually the decisive evidence.
Roundabout accidents
Drivers entering a roundabout are generally required to give way to vehicles already on it, so an entering driver often carries responsibility. Multi-lane roundabouts produce a second common dispute: a vehicle exiting across another lane. Note which entry each vehicle used, which lane each was in, and where the impact landed.
Car park accidents
Car park collisions are handled like any other: exchange details, photograph everything and notify your insurer. Fault often turns on who was reversing and who was travelling in the aisle. Ask the centre management to preserve CCTV the same day, because it is usually overwritten quickly.
Someone hit your parked car
Photograph the damage and the position of your car before moving it, and look immediately for witnesses and nearby cameras. If a note was left, verify the details straight away. If not, report it to police and to your insurer — cover for an unidentified driver depends on your policy, and an excess may apply.
More guides are coming
Crash Guide is publishing a considered library rather than a thousand near-identical pages. Each new guide is researched, sourced and reviewed before it goes up.