CTP, Green Slips, and what your rego actually covers
Compulsory Third Party injury cover works differently in all eight states and territories. Which scheme applies to you, and what it leaves out.
Compulsory Third Party insurance is the only insurance product in Australia that every driver has and almost nobody understands. It is bought at a different moment, from a different party and under different rules in each state and territory, and the words used for it change at every border.
Here is what it is, what it is not, and which version of it applies where you live.
What CTP covers
CTP covers injury to people caused by the use of your vehicle. That includes other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and in most schemes you as the driver, subject to fault rules that differ by state. It funds medical treatment, rehabilitation, income replacement and, in the more serious cases, lifetime care.
It is compulsory because injury claims are catastrophic and open-ended, and because a person hit by a car should not have their recovery depend on whether the driver happened to have insurance.
What CTP does not cover
CTP covers nobody's property. Not your car, not the other car, not the fence, not the shopfront. That is what a comprehensive, third party property damage, or third party fire and theft policy is for, and it is entirely separate. A driver with rego and no motor policy is legally compliant and financially exposed: if you write off a $90,000 vehicle at an intersection, CTP will pay for the driver's broken collarbone and nothing at all for their car.
Rego covers the person you hurt. It does not cover the car you hurt. Those are two different policies and only one of them comes with your registration.
Which scheme applies to you
There are two broad models. In four jurisdictions you choose a licensed CTP insurer and there is a competitive market. In the other four a single government scheme collects the premium with your registration and there is nothing to shop for.
| State | What it is called | How you pay it | Choice of insurer |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Green Slip | Bought separately from a licensed CTP insurer before you can register. | You choose the insurer |
| VIC | TAC charge | Collected by VicRoads as part of your registration renewal. | No choice, single scheme |
| QLD | CTP with rego | Paid with your registration, but you nominate which licensed insurer. | You choose the insurer |
| ACT | CTP with rego | Paid with registration, with a choice of licensed insurers. | You choose the insurer |
| SA | CTP with rego | Included in your registration, with a choice of approved insurers. | You choose the insurer |
| WA | Motor injury insurance | Collected with registration by the Insurance Commission of WA. | No choice, single scheme |
| TAS | MAIB premium | Collected with registration by the Motor Accidents Insurance Board. | No choice, single scheme |
| NT | MACA charge | Collected with registration under the Motor Accidents Compensation scheme. | No choice, single scheme |
New South Wales
The Green Slip is the outlier. It is bought separately from a licensed CTP insurerbefore you can register or renew, and the price varies between insurers for the same vehicle and driver. It is genuinely worth comparing, and the state runs a Green Slip price comparison service to make that possible. NSW premiums also carry the Emergency Services Levy, which is why they read higher than an equivalent policy across the border.
Victoria
The TAC charge appears as a line on your VicRoads registration renewal. There is no insurer to choose and no price to compare. The Transport Accident Commission is a single, no-fault scheme, which is why Victorian drivers rarely think about CTP at all.
Queensland, the ACT and South Australia
You pay it with your registration, but you nominate which licensed insurer receives it. The price is regulated within a band, so the differences are smaller than in New South Wales, but the choice is real and it does carry across to who handles a claim.
Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory
Single government schemes: the Insurance Commission of Western Australia, the Motor Accidents Insurance Board in Tasmania, and the Motor Accidents Compensation scheme in the Northern Territory. Collected with rego, nothing to choose.
Two things that catch people out
Moving interstate. Your CTP does not travel with you. When you re-register in a new state you enter that state's scheme, and if you are moving to New South Wales you will need to buy a Green Slip before you can complete the registration.
Unregistered vehicles. If registration lapses, CTP lapses with it. Driving an unregistered vehicle is not just a fine; it means an injured person has to claim against a nominal defendant scheme, and those schemes routinely pursue the driver personally to recover what they pay.
