Motor Accident Compensation in Tasmania: MAIB Claims, Benefits and Time Limits

Tasmania's Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973 runs two tracks through the MAIB: no-fault statutory benefits available regardless of fault, and a common law damages claim against an at-fault party, with no whole-person-impairment threshold gating access to that common law claim.

This guide covers Tasmania's motor accident compensation scheme under the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973 and its 2020 Regulations, current as of 18 August 2026. It covers the no-fault scheduled benefits the MAIB pays, common law damages, claim time limits, and interstate cover. It does not cover other states' schemes or Tasmania's general civil statute of limitations outside motor accidents.

How Tasmania's MAIB Scheme Works

The MAIB, the Motor Accidents Insurance Board, has administered Tasmania's compulsory third party motor accident scheme since 1974, funded through compulsory premiums built into vehicle registration. The Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973 runs two separate tracks.

Part IV of the Act is the no-fault track. Under section 23(1), the Board must pay the benefits prescribed by regulation where a resident of Tasmania suffers personal injury directly from a motor accident, with no fault or negligence requirement anywhere in that section. The MAIB describes this directly: no fault benefits are paid on accepted claims, irrespective of who caused the motor accident.

Part III of the Act is the common law track. Here the Board stands behind, or indemnifies, the liability of an at-fault party, in place of a private insurer, so a claimant sues, or settles with, the Board rather than the at-fault driver personally.

Who Is Covered

Coverage is not limited by role: the Act defines a motor accident as one directly involving a motor vehicle, and the MAIB's own description covers drivers, passengers, motorcyclists and other road users, language the MAIB itself uses to include pedestrians and cyclists.

Coverage does depend on residency and where the vehicle was registered. A Tasmanian resident injured in Tasmania is covered. A Tasmanian resident injured interstate in a Tasmanian-registered vehicle is also covered, though the benefit is reduced by whatever the other state's scheme pays for the same injury. A non-Tasmanian resident injured in Tasmania in a Tasmanian-registered vehicle is covered. A non-Tasmanian resident injured in Tasmania in an interstate-registered vehicle has narrower cover, limited to medical, disability and family counselling benefits, and only where the injured person requires daily care.

Where the at-fault vehicle cannot be identified, for example a hit and run, or the person who would otherwise be sued has died or cannot be found, section 16 of the Act lets a claimant bring the same proceedings against the Board instead. Notice of intention to claim must generally be given to the Board within 3 months of the accident, though the court can allow up to 9 months, and can allow even later where it is satisfied that is just and reasonable in the circumstances.

Tasmania does not treat uninsured vehicles the way some jurisdictions do: CTP cover is bundled into vehicle registration rather than a separately purchasable policy, so an injured claimant's benefits are not barred by the at-fault driver's failure to pay a premium. The Board still pays the claim and separately pursues recovery from that driver or owner.

Time Limits and How to Claim

For the no-fault scheduled benefits, written notice of the injury must generally be given to the Board within 1 year of the accident, and the claim itself must generally be brought within 1 year of the date of death, the date a loss or expense was incurred, or the date care was provided. TASCAT can extend either period by up to 5 years, and can grant that extension even after the period has already expired.

The no-fault benefits also carry a real precondition: they are not payable at all where the accident was not reported to police as soon as practicable, unless the Board excuses the failure to report. Separately, the registered operator or driver, not the injured person, must notify the Board itself as soon as practicable of the accident and its circumstances.

For a common law damages claim against an at-fault party, the MAIB's own guidance states a claimant generally has up to 3 years to bring the claim. This figure could not be independently confirmed against the Limitation Act 1974 directly in the course of this research and should be verified before being relied on for a specific claim, rather than treated as settled.

What You Can Receive

No-fault scheduled benefits under Part IV cover income support, medical and disability expenses, funeral costs, a death benefit, and family counselling, each set by the Regulations rather than the Act itself.

Income support pays, for a worker earning more than $400 a week, the lesser of 80 percent of average weekly earnings or 3 times the adult average weekly earnings, or, for a worker earning $400 a week or less, the lesser of a flat $320 a week or actual earnings. It is not payable for the first 7 days after the accident, and only applies where the person was, within 20 days of the accident, wholly unable to work. It can run for an initial 104 weeks while disabled from their usual occupation, then a further 156 weeks while disabled from any occupation reasonably suited to them, a combined potential ceiling of 260 weeks.

Medical and disability benefits combined are capped at $500,000 where the person was a continuous hospital inpatient for more than 4 days, or $400,000 in any other case, except that the cap does not apply at all to a person who requires daily care.

A funeral benefit of $7,500, plus an indexed additional amount, is payable for accidents from 1 December 2007 onward. A death benefit lump sum starts at $88,000 for accidents from 17 February 2020 onward, increased by $26,000 for each dependent child under 9, $13,000 for each dependent child aged 9 to 17, and $5,200 for each dependent child aged 18 to 24 who is a full time student. A family counselling benefit of up to $1,270 per family member is also available where the injured person requires daily care or has died.

Tasmania's no-fault benefits are periodic and dollar-capped rather than tied to a whole-person-impairment lump sum; a full text search of the Act and Regulations found no impairment percentage or whole-person-impairment mechanism anywhere in the scheduled benefits scheme.

Common law damages, available where someone else was at fault or negligent, including where fault is only partial, can include past and future lost earnings, pain and suffering, past and future out-of-pocket expenses, and future care needs. There is no whole-person-impairment threshold gating access to this claim in Tasmania, unlike the common law thresholds used in some other states. Two adjustments do apply: a court cannot award loss-of-earning-capacity damages on the basis the person could have earned more than 3 times the adult average weekly earnings, and damages must be reduced by at least 15 percent, or more if a court considers it just, where a person 16 or older was not wearing a seatbelt as required. Common law claims are heard without a jury, and the Board must have a reasonable opportunity to be heard before any damages order is made.

Disputes

No-fault benefit disputes go to the Board first, which determines eligibility, the right to any benefit, and the amount. A person aggrieved by that determination, or by a refusal or failure to pay, can refer the matter to TASCAT, which can also hear a referral brought by the Board itself; its determination binds both sides, subject to variation by the Supreme Court under the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020.

Separately, if the MAIB does not accept a claim at all, the MAIB's own guidance states a claimant can refer that decision to TASCAT for independent review, and that the referral must generally be made within 14 days of receiving notice of the decision. This 14-day figure comes from the MAIB's own claims procedure rather than from the text of the Regulations directly, and a writer or claimant relying on it for a specific case should confirm it against TASCAT's own rules.

Common law damages claims that are not resolved go to court rather than TASCAT.

Interstate Vehicles

Where an interstate-registered vehicle causes an accident in Tasmania, that vehicle's home state CTP policy is relied on through specific machinery in the Act's Schedule 2, rather than the MAIB simply declining cover.

Where a Tasmanian-registered vehicle causes an accident in another state or territory, Tasmania's own CTP cover is treated as being in force under that other jurisdiction's laws while the vehicle is being used there. The Regulations name every other Australian state and territory, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, as a prescribed jurisdiction for this purpose.

Police Reporting and Related Claims

Reporting the accident to Tasmania Police as soon as practicable is both a general obligation and, separately, a precondition to the no-fault scheduled benefits themselves, unless the Board excuses a failure to report. The registered operator or driver also has a separate duty to notify the Board of the accident and its circumstances as soon as practicable.

A motor accident on a work journey can also raise a workers compensation claim alongside a MAIB claim; see recordinglaw.com's guide to workers compensation in Tasmania for how that scheme interacts with a MAIB claim. An at-fault driver may also face demerit points or drink driving penalties as a separate consequence of the same accident; see the guides to Tasmania demerit points and drink driving penalties in Tasmania. For how Australia's general civil limitation periods work outside motor accidents, see the statute of limitations in Australia. For how CTP schemes work in other states and territories, see motor accident compensation in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to notify the MAIB of a motor accident injury in Tasmania?

Written notice must generally be given within 1 year of the accident, and the claim itself must generally be brought within 1 year of the relevant date, such as when a loss was incurred. TASCAT can extend either period by up to 5 years, even after it has already expired.

Is there a whole-person-impairment threshold for a common law claim in Tasmania?

No. A search of the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973 and its Regulations found no whole-person-impairment percentage gating access to a common law claim, unlike the thresholds used in some other states.

How long do I have to bring a common law damages claim in Tasmania?

The MAIB states a claimant generally has up to 3 years, but this figure rests on the MAIB's own guidance rather than a directly verified citation to the Limitation Act 1974, and should be confirmed for a specific claim rather than assumed.

Do I need to report the accident to police to receive MAIB benefits?

Yes, in effect. No-fault scheduled benefits are not payable where the accident was not reported to Tasmania Police as soon as practicable, unless the MAIB excuses the failure to report.

What happens if an interstate vehicle causes an accident in Tasmania?

The interstate vehicle's home state CTP policy applies through specific machinery in the Act, rather than the MAIB declining cover. A Tasmanian-registered vehicle is similarly treated as covered under the relevant other jurisdiction's laws while being used in every other Australian state or territory.

What can I receive under Tasmania's no-fault scheduled benefits?

Income support up to 80 percent of average weekly earnings, medical and disability benefits capped at $400,000 or $500,000 depending on hospitalisation, a funeral benefit, a death benefit lump sum starting at $88,000, and family counselling benefits, each set by the Regulations.