Posted on 09 Apr 2026

Nominal Defendant QLD: Who Can Claim, Time Limits & Compensation Explained

Nominal Defendant QLD claim timeline (Quick guide)

Requirement	QLD deadline	Why it matters
Police report	Immediately or within 24 hours	You must report the crash to a police station (not via Policelink) to get a Queensland Police Reference Number.
Lodge your Notice of Accident Claim	One or three months, depending on your case	Lodge within either: • Three months of the crash. • One month of speaking to a lawyer. The deadline that applies is the one you reach first. To lodge after this, you need a ‘reasonable excuse’.
Final cut-off date	Nine months	This is the hard deadline. If your claim isn’t lodged within nine months, your right to compensation is usually lost.
Proper inquiry and search	Ongoing	You must prove you made genuine attempts to find the at-fault vehicle.
Court proceedings	Three years	The ultimate deadline to file in court if your claim hasn't settled before this.

Who is the Nominal Defendant in Queensland?

The Nominal Defendant is a statutory body that acts as a ‘safety net’ for the Queensland CTP scheme. It ensures that people injured by unidentified (hit and run) or unregistered vehicles can still access rehabilitation and compensation.

Can I make a Nominal Defendant claim?

In Queensland, you can typically lodge a claim if you were injured in an accident that was at least partially someone else’s fault. Importantly, you don’t need to be the driver to be eligible. The following people can usually make a claim:

Drivers and passengers.
Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
Parents or guardians of children injured in an accident.
Family members who were financially dependent on someone fatally injured in a crash.
Witnesses who develop a psychological condition after seeing a serious or fatal accident.

Important: The ‘road’ requirement

The accident must have happened on a ‘road’. Under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994, this includes public roads, footpaths, nature strips, and public car parks (like a shopping centre or a beach car park). If your accident happened on private property — like a private farm track, a 4WD park, or inside a private gated estate with no public access — the Nominal Defendant will likely reject the claim.

Start your free online claim check

Find out if you’re eligible for a Nominal Defendant claim today.

Check your claim nowIt only takes 2 minutes.

What injuries can I claim for?

In Queensland, you can claim for almost any diagnosed physical or psychological condition, as long as it was caused by the accident. In our experience, these are some of the most common conditions that underpin a Nominal Defendant claim:

Physical injuries: Whiplash, back and neck strains, soft tissue tears, fractures, internal organ damage, spinal cord injuries, nerve damage or Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
Psychological injuries: PTSD, anxiety, depression or adjustment disorder.

It’s important to know that the Nominal Defendant only covers personal injury, not property damage. If your car is damaged in a hit and run, you must claim against your own Comprehensive Insurance.

How to make a Nominal Defendant claim in QLD

To make a successful Nominal Defendant claim in Queensland, you follow the standard CTP process with one major addition: for hit and runs, you must prove ‘proper inquiry and search.’

Here is the step-by-step path:

You must report the crash to the Queensland Police as soon as possible. Doing this generates a QP Reference Number, which is mandatory for a Nominal Defendant claim. Without a formal police record verifying that the accident occurred, the claim cannot move forward.

If you don’t know who hit you, you must show the Nominal Defendant that you took active steps to find them. If you simply say ‘they drove off’ without proof of effort, your claim will likely be rejected.

To meet this requirement, you should:

Check for footage: Ask local businesses or residents for CCTV or dashcam video immediately.
Canvass the area: Put up witness signs or do a letterbox drop near the accident site.
Use social media: Post in local community groups asking for information and save screenshots of the posts.
Public notices: In some cases, placing an advertisement in a local newspaper helps demonstrate thoroughness.

Note on unregistered vehicles: If you have the registration number but the car was simply uninsured, you don’t need to do an inquiry and search. The Nominal Defendant will verify the insurance status themselves.

Keep a symptom diary to track pain levels, mental health struggles, and how your injuries stop you from doing everyday tasks. This evidence is vital for your final payout.

In addition, make sure to collect the following:

GP and specialist reports: Detailed records of your diagnosis and how it impacts your Activities of Daily Living (cooking, cleaning, etc.).
Scans: Copies of any MRIs, CTs, or X-rays.
Receipts: Keep receipts from all out-of-pocket expenses like physiotherapy, pharmacy, and psychology. Make sure to also track the kilometres driven to and from medical appointments, as you can claim a per-kilometre reimbursement.
Employment records: To claim for lost income, you’ll need more than just payslips. Gather tax returns from the last two years (especially important if you’re self-employed) and employer statements confirming your time off.

You must lodge your claim within either three months of the accident, or one month after first speaking with a lawyer — whichever is sooner. You can lodge:

Online: Via the Motor Accident Insurance Commission CTP Portal.
By post: Complete, print out and send a copy of the PDF form to: Nominal Defendant, GPO Box 2203, Brisbane QLD 4001.

Within 14 days of lodging, the Nominal Defendant will provide a claim number.

They will also confirm if they will fund ‘reasonable and appropriate’ rehabilitation, such as physiotherapy or counselling, while the claim is ongoing. If funding is approved, you should complete an Online Rehabilitation or Reimbursement Request.

The Nominal Defendant has up to six months to investigate. They will decide if they accept fault for the accident and, crucially, whether they accept that your ‘proper inquiry and search’ was sufficient.

Once your injuries have stabilised (usually 12–18 months later), you will see an accredited specialist. They assign you an Injury Scale Value (ISV) from 0 to 100.

Your ISV is one of the factors used to determine what kinds of compensation you’re eligible for and how much you’ll receive.

Your assessment takes into account factors such as:

The physical and psychological impact of your injuries.
The expected duration of treatment and ongoing care.
Whether you have sustained more than one injury.
Any mental health conditions arising from the incident, such as PTSD or depression.

Here’s a general idea of what ISVs different injuries may result in:

ISV range	Severity level	Example injuries
ISV 0	No permanent impact	Minor bruising or grazes.
ISV 1–10	Minor to moderate	Whiplash, simple fractures, or minor scarring.
ISV 11–30	Significant	Serious back and neck injuries, moderate PTSD, or facial scarring.
ISV 31–100	Severe to catastrophic	Permanent brain damage, paralysis, or loss of limbs.

Once the Nominal Defendant makes an offer, you have two paths:

Accept the offer: The claim is finalised and you receive a lump sum.
Decline the offer: If the offer is too low, you attend a Compulsory Conference where you and the insurer will try to negotiate a settlement. We strongly recommend getting a lawyer at this stage, even if you made your original claim alone.

If a settlement can’t be reached during the Conference, both sides exchange Mandatory Final Offers (MFOs). These are open for 14 days. If neither side accepts the MFO, you have 60 days to file a claim in court.

Important: Never accept a settlement offer without first speaking to a lawyer. We can review your circumstances and provide free advice on whether the offer is fair — helping ensure you receive the compensation your injury deserves.

How much compensation can I get in a Nominal Defendant claim?

In Queensland, your compensation isn’t just one lump sum; it’s built from different ‘heads of damage’. The final amount depends on the severity of your injuries and how they affect your life and ability to work.

Depending on your situation, your claim can cover:

Lost income: Wages you’ve already lost, as well as compensation for future lost income if you can’t work at your pre-injury capacity. Superannuation is included.
Medical expenses: Coverage for hospital stays, specialist appointments, physiotherapy, and any ongoing rehab.
Care and support: Professional help for daily tasks. You may also be able to claim for unpaid support from family and friends, so long as they provide at least six hours of help per week for at least six months.
Home and vehicle modifications: If you need changes to your home or car to accommodate your injury, e.g. ramps at home or specialised controls in your car.
Pain and suffering: This compensates you for the negative impact of the injury on your life.

In Queensland, pain and suffering compensation is calculated based on your Injury Scale Value (ISV).

Your exact payout is determined based on your ISV, using a ‘base amount’ plus a ‘variable amount’.

Example: A fractured collarbone with an ISV of 14

If your injury is assessed at an ISV of 14 for a 2025/26 claim, the calculation looks like this:

Base amount: $20,200.
Variable amount: (Your ISV – 10) × $2,560.
Total: $20,200 + (4 × $2,560) = $30,440.

Pain and suffering payouts for 2025/26

The following table shows the approximate compensation for pain and suffering. As of July 2025, the maximum possible payout (ISV 100) is $468,325.

These amounts increase every July with inflation. For accidents occurring between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, you can expect:

ISV rating	Compensation amount (approx. for 2025/26)
1	$1,860
10	$20,495
20	$48,475
30	$84,225
40	$127,365
50	$175,845
60	$227,415
70	$282,510
80	$341,100
90	$403,225
100	$468,325

Remember: This is only one part of your claim

While pain and suffering compensation is capped, your economic loss (lost wages and superannuation) is not. For many people — especially young people who can no longer work in their trade or profession — the lost income portion of the settlement is much larger than the pain and suffering payout.

Queensland is a fault-based Nominal Defendant system, so you generally cannot make a claim if the accident was entirely your fault.

The only exception is if you’ve sustained a ‘catastrophic’ injury. In this case, you may be eligible for the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ). This is a no-fault scheme that provides lifetime treatment, care, and support, regardless of who caused the crash.

Injuries that qualify for NIISQ

To be eligible, your injury must meet specific clinical criteria under the NIISQ Act (PDF). Generally, this includes:

Permanent spinal cord injuries.
Traumatic brain injuries (measured by specific functional scores).
Multiple or high-level limb amputations.
Severe burns (covering specific body percentages or areas like the face or hands).
Permanent blindness caused by trauma.
Permanent injury to the brachial plexus (the nerve network for the shoulder and arm).

What NIISQ provides

If accepted, you are typically enrolled as an ‘interim participant’ for two years while your recovery is monitored. If the injury remains life-changing, you become a ‘lifetime participant’. Throughout these periods, you may be eligible for:

Medical and pharmaceutical treatment: Hospital stays, doctor visits, or medication.
Rehabilitation: Physio, occupational therapy, or speech therapy.
Professional care: Help with personal care and domestic tasks.
Aids and equipment: Wheelchairs, prosthetics, or assistive technology.
Home and vehicle modifications: Ramps, bathroom rails, or car hand-controls.
Vocational support: Help you return to work where possible.

It is important to understand that NIISQ is a service-based scheme. This means that, unlike with a fault-based Nominal Defendant claim, you won’t receive a lump sum payout. Instead, NIISQ pays for injury-related bills and care services directly for the rest of your life.

What happens if I miss the time limit in a Nominal Defendant claim?

In Queensland, Nominal Defendant claims have strict time limits: you generally need to lodge within one month of seeing a lawyer or three months from the accident, with a hard cut-off at nine months. However, there are limited exceptions where the deadline may be extended.

If you missed the three-month or one-month time limits

You can still lodge your claim, but you must provide a written ‘reasonable excuse’ for the delay. The Nominal Defendant will look at this closely to see if your delay has made it harder for them to investigate the crash.

Common examples of a reasonable excuse include:

Medical incapacity: You were physically or mentally unable to deal with paperwork (e.g. you were in a rehab ward or dealing with documented severe shock).
Late discovery of injury: You didn't realise you were seriously hurt at first. For instance, you thought you had a minor strain, but a scan months later revealed a spinal disc bulge that had only just become symptomatic.

If you are past the nine-month mark

Finding the driver: If the at-fault driver can be identified now — perhaps through new dashcam footage or a fresh witness — the claim moves to standard CTP rules, where the nine-month time limit is less rigid.
Latent onset injuries: Under section 37 of the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994, if your injuries weren't obvious immediately, the nine-month period may start from when symptoms first appeared rather than the date of the crash.
Minors without an effective guardian: If the injured person is a child and no guardian can act within the timeframe, the time limit may be extended.

Even if you’re past the nine-month window, it may not be too late. A lawyer can review your situation, check if an exception applies, or see if the vehicle can still be identified, potentially allowing the claim to proceed under standard CTP rules.

Do I need a lawyer for a Nominal Defendant claim?

In Queensland, the vast majority of motor accident claims are fault-based. This means your right to a payout depends on proving that another driver was negligent, which is exactly why getting expert legal advice is so critical.

When you’re dealing with the Nominal Defendant, the process becomes even more complex. Because the at-fault driver is either unidentified or uninsured, the insurer will typically place your evidence under much higher scrutiny than they would in a standard claim.

Here’s how a lawyer can change the outcome of your claim:

Proving fault: A lawyer helps gather the witness statements, photographs, and expert medical evidence needed to prove the crash was at least partly someone else’s fault.
Meeting the ‘proper inquiry’ test: A lawyer handles the heavy lifting by coordinating letterbox drops, placing formal public notices, and gathering dashcam or CCTV footage before it is overwritten.
Navigating strict time limits: Nominal Defendant claims have the most rigid deadlines of all Queensland motor accident claims. Missing the absolute nine-month cut-off means your claim is statute-barred — in other words, it’s legally dead, and extensions are rarely granted. A lawyer ensures your claim meets every time limit, so you don’t lose compensation on a technicality.
Choosing and briefing the right experts: A successful claim relies on high-quality medical evidence. Your lawyer will work with a network of independent orthopaedic surgeons, psychiatrists, and vocational specialists to ensure your Injury Scale Value (ISV) reflects the true extent of your injuries, rather than relying on the insurer’s doctors.
Maximising your compensation: A lawyer ensures your claim fully captures how the injury has affected your life — financially, personally, and professionally — and uncovers additional entitlements, such as a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) lump sum, so you receive the maximum compensation possible for your injury.
Dispute resolution: If the Nominal Defendant denies liability or offers a lowball settlement, we’ll represent you at the mandatory Compulsory Conference. With our experience and expertise, it’s more than likely we’ll secure the settlement you deserve at this stage — avoiding the stress and cost of a court trial.

Fully compliant with Queensland law

Our firm provides the mandatory 2026 Law Practice Certificate required by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission for all claims. This guarantees your claim is handled ethically and complies fully with Queensland law.

Frequently asked questions

While individual ‘heads of damage’ like pain and suffering are capped at certain amounts, there is no total limit on Nominal Defendant payouts.

Because the Nominal Defendant is a government-backed safety net, it has the same ‘unlimited’ liability as a private insurer like Allianz, QBE or Suncorp. They are legally required to pay the full amount of compensation you are entitled to under the law.

The Nominal Defendant scheme is managed by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC), which also administers the state Compulsory Third Party (CTP) scheme. Every registered vehicle contributes a small levy to the Nominal Defendant Fund, ensuring that funding is available for eligible claims.