What Is SIRA? NSW CTP and the Regulator Explained
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Principal Lawyer and Director · Last updated 5 November 2026
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Key Takeaway: SIRA, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, is the NSW Government regulator of CTP Green Slip and workers compensation insurance. It licenses and polices insurers but does not pay your claim: under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, the at-fault vehicle’s CTP insurer does. Lodge your benefits claim within 3 months; NSW motor vehicle accident lawyers can help.
What is SIRA: Quick Answers
If you have been hurt in a crash, SIRA’s name is on the claim form, the insurer’s letters and the help line. It is fair to ask whose side it is on.
SIRA is the referee, not the payer and not your lawyer. The at-fault vehicle’s insurer decides and pays your claim, and the deadlines run either way: miss the 3-month lodgement deadline and you need a full and satisfactory explanation to claim at all.
Questions about your own claim? Call 1800 952 898 for a free claim check.
What does SIRA do in NSW?
SIRA regulates the three NSW statutory insurance schemes: CTP Green Slip insurance, workers compensation and home building compensation. It also has some functions in the Lifetime Care and Support and Dust Diseases schemes. It licenses insurers, sets the rules for how they handle claims, checks they comply and penalises breaches (SIRA).
| What SIRA does | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Licenses CTP and workers compensation insurers | Only licensed insurers can sell a NSW Green Slip. There are 6. |
| Sets claims-handling rules | The insurer must contact you within 3 days of your claim and decide liability for treatment and lost income within 4 weeks. |
| Monitors and penalises insurers | SIRA can impose licence conditions and civil penalties. On 27/10/2026 it imposed 8 civil penalties totalling $479,500 on NRMA Insurance for breaching the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, the Motor Accident Guidelines and its insurer licence. |
| Runs CTP Assist | Free help on 1300 656 919 with forms, finding the insurer and getting support. |
| Publishes insurer performance | You can compare how CTP insurers perform before you buy a Green Slip. |
SIRA does not pay claims, decide disputes or act for you. That split causes most of the confusion: people call SIRA expecting it to fix their claim, and it can only point them to the right door.
What is SIRA CTP insurance?
SIRA CTP is the NSW Compulsory Third Party scheme, better known as the Green Slip. You must buy one to register a vehicle in NSW. It runs under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 and pays benefits to people injured in a NSW crash: drivers, passengers, riders, pedestrians and cyclists (SIRA).
- •Who pays: the CTP insurer of the vehicle most at fault. Find it with SIRA’s CTP Connect tool or through CTP Assist.
- •Fund Levy: part of every Green Slip pays for ambulance and initial hospital care, and Lifetime Care for people with severe injuries.
- •Scale: 14,789 new CTP claims and $1.7 billion in claim payments in 2024-25, an average of $70,106 per claim paid (SIRA Annual Report 2024-25). Our guide to a CTP claim in NSW covers the forms.
Who does what in a SIRA CTP claim?
SIRA explains, the insurer decides, the Independent Review Office hears complaints, and the Personal Injury Commission resolves disputes. Here is who to contact, and when.
| Who | Their job in your claim | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| SIRA | Regulates the scheme and the insurers | sira.nsw.gov.au |
| CTP Assist (part of SIRA) | Free help with the process, forms and finding the insurer | 1300 656 919, 8:30am to 5pm weekdays |
| The CTP insurer | Decides and pays your claim | Insurer of the at-fault vehicle |
| Independent Review Office (IRO) | Complaints about how the insurer handles your claim | 13 94 76 |
| Personal Injury Commission | Independent decisions on disputes | 1800 742 679 |
| CTP Care (icare) | Can take over treatment and care for some long-term injuries | 1300 738 586 |
| Your lawyer | Acts for you, builds the evidence, negotiates your lump sum | 1800 952 898 (Withstand Lawyers) |
What can SIRA’s CTP Assist help with?
CTP Assist is SIRA’s free help line for anyone affected by a NSW motor crash: 1300 656 919, 8:30am to 5pm weekdays. It helps you complete the forms, check eligibility, find the right insurer, and reach legal, community and trauma and grief support (SIRA).
It explains the process; it does not argue your case. SIRA’s CTP Legal Advisory Service funds advice for some disputes, but never for a damages claim. For a lump sum, you need your own lawyer.
How do you make a SIRA CTP claim in NSW?
You make the claim with the at-fault vehicle’s CTP insurer, not with SIRA, in 5 steps:
- Get a police event number from the Police Assistance Line on 13 14 44.
- See your GP for a certificate of fitness on SIRA’s form. Keep every receipt and your pay slips.
- Find the insurer with CTP Connect or CTP Assist.
- Lodge your Application for Personal Injury Benefits with the insurer, through your MyServiceNSW account, or by email or registered post.
- Hold the insurer to its deadlines: contact within 3 days, a liability decision on treatment and income within 4 weeks, and weekly payments starting within 10 working days.
The benefits claim has two separate clocks: 3 months to lodge, and 28 days for automatic backdating.
| When you lodge | Can you lodge? | Weekly payments backdated to the day after the accident? |
|---|---|---|
| Within 28 days | Yes | Yes, automatically. No explanation needed. |
| After 28 days, within 3 months | Yes, on time. No explanation needed to lodge. | Only with a full and satisfactory explanation. Without one, payments start from the date of the claim. |
| After 3 months | Only with a full and satisfactory explanation, and within 3 years (no 3-year limit for a death or impairment more than 10%) | No. Payments start from the date of the claim. |
For the lump sum, lodge your Application for Common Law Damages within 2 years to keep weekly payments running, and no later than 3 years without a full and satisfactory explanation. More in our guide to how long you have to claim after a car accident.
What can you claim under the SIRA CTP scheme?
Two things: statutory benefits, paid as you go, and a lump sum for more serious injuries. Which you get depends on fault and on whether your injury is a threshold injury (soft tissue injuries and undiagnosed psychological conditions etc) or a non-threshold injury (a break, fracture, nerve damage, or PTSD etc).
- •Weekly payments: 95% of pre-accident earnings for weeks 1 to 13, then 85% if you are partly working or 80% if you are not, for weeks 14 to 52. The maximum is $5,264 a week from 1 October 2026.
- •Treatment and care: reasonable and necessary medical, rehabilitation and care costs.
- •Lump sum: needs a non-threshold injury (a fracture, tear, nerve damage or PTSD etc) and that you were not mostly at fault. Pain and suffering also needs whole person impairment of more than 10%, and is capped at $712,000 from 1 October 2026. See pain and suffering compensation.
| Threshold injury | Non-threshold injury (a fracture, tear, nerve damage or PTSD etc) | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly payments | Up to 52 weeks | Beyond 52 weeks if not mostly at fault |
| Treatment and care | Up to 52 weeks | Can continue beyond 52 weeks |
| Lump sum | No | Yes, if not mostly at fault |
Being mostly at fault or having only threshold injuries limits benefits to 52 weeks, with no lump sum. See threshold vs non-threshold injuries.
A real NSW result: Brad, 35, was rear-ended. His whiplash, shoulder tear and lumbar disc injury were assessed at 13% whole person impairment, and he received $400,000. Every claim turns on its own facts. See more of our results on our claims won page, or typical ranges in our NSW payouts guide.
Can SIRA help if you disagree with your CTP insurer?
Not directly. SIRA does not overturn insurer decisions. Use the right channel:
- Internal review: ask the insurer within 28 days of receiving the decision.
- Personal Injury Commission: still unhappy? Apply to the Personal Injury Commission for an independent review.
- Independent Review Office: for delays, missing documents or poor claim handling, call 13 94 76. It can investigate and recommend, but cannot change a decision.
Disputes about fault, the threshold label or your impairment decide whether a lump sum is possible. That is where CTP lawyers earn their place.
Does SIRA also regulate workers compensation?
Yes. SIRA regulates NSW workers compensation too; call 13 74 72 for help. Insurers, including the icare-managed Nominal Insurer, pay the claims (SIRA). See our NSW workers compensation lawyers, or what you can claim in our NSW workers compensation payout guide.
Hurt in a crash while working? You may need both claims, and must claim CTP treatment and care within 3 months after workers compensation medical payments stop. See accident while driving for work.
Do you need a lawyer for a SIRA CTP claim?
Not always. If your injuries are minor and heal in weeks, CTP Assist and the insurer may be all you need. Get advice early if:
- •you have a non-threshold injury (a fracture, tear, nerve damage or PTSD etc), or the insurer labels your injury threshold and it’s not
- •the insurer says you were mostly at fault (see not at fault car accident claims)
- •you are off work for more than a few weeks, or thinking about a lump sum
You cannot reopen a lump sum once you settle. Withstand Lawyers works on a no win no fee basis, and our CTP compensation calculator gives a first estimate. Most people deal with SIRA once; the early decisions are the ones that last.
What is SIRA: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I make a CTP claim in NSW?
What is the average CTP payout in NSW?
What are the current CTP rates for SIRA?
How do I complain about my CTP insurer in NSW?
What is the SIRA CTP Assist phone number?
Can I make a CTP claim if the accident was my fault?
How long do I have to make a CTP claim in NSW?
Does a CTP claim cost anything?
Why choose Withstand Lawyers for your CTP claim?
When you are facing a serious injury, the firm you choose matters. Withstand Lawyers focuses exclusively on personal injury law and has acted for seriously injured people across NSW since 2014, with over 40 years of combined experience in car accident compensation law.
We tell you how much your claim is worth, without pressuring you to settle. Over $60 million recovered, a 99% success rate, no win, no fee. Meet our personal injury lawyers.
Call 1800 952 898 for your free claim check
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About the author
Issa Rabaya · Principal Lawyer and Director
✓ Admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW and High Court of Australia ✓ LLB ✓ IRO-approved ✓ Law Society of NSW
Acts for injured people in CTP, workers compensation, TPD and public liability claims.
4.9 ★ — 265+ Reviews
“Working with Esther has been an absolute blessing during an incredibly difficult time. Anyone who has ever had to navigate an insurance claim knows just how difficult, overwhelming, and anxiety-inducing the entire process can be. Before reaching out to Withstand Lawyers, I was constantly stressed and deeply overwhelmed by the system. The firm made the initial intake process incredibly smooth, and they placed me in the hands of my lawyer, Esther. From that moment on, from the first conversation, I finally found my solid ground.
Esther has completely transformed how I navigate this unfortunate situation. Because she handles my matter directly, I have a direct line of contact with her and never have to jump through hoops to get support. Esther’s presence alone has given me immense confidence in my claim. What sets her apart is her perfect balance of professional mastery and genuine empathy. As a client, having a lawyer who truly listens and supports you when your mind is filled with doubt is a massive relief. She doesn’t just manage a file — she consistently protects her client’s peace of mind. Her recommendations are always highly logical, realistic, and clear-cut. She cuts through the legal confusion and tells you exactly where you stand, which is exactly what you need during the hardest times of your life.
I feel incredibly lucky to have Esther and her team at Withstand Lawyers by my side. For anyone out there facing a difficult time with an insurer and looking for a legal advocate who offers absolute clarity, strength, and compassion — I cannot recommend Esther highly enough. She is a truly admirable professional who genuinely cares about the people she protects. Truly grateful!”
“I have searched top lawyers (personal injury) in Sydney. I found Withstand Lawyers so I rang them up and asked I need lawyers that are nicer and more understanding despite what I am going through. They exceeded my expectations especially Issa, he always remind everyone to be more cautious when speaking to me and I really appreciate that. I am satisfied that my case (MVA) turned out to be successful. Withstand lawyers is more than 5 stars. Can’t recommend highly enough.”
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Meet Your Motor Vehicle Accident Lawyers
Every motor vehicle accident claim is handled by a personal injury lawyer with dedicated motor vehicle accident experience.
Issa Rabaya
Director, Lawyer
Founder and Director with 12 years' experience since his 2014 admission, previously at the largest litigation law firm in Australia. A personal injury lawyer for serious injuries, leading Withstand Lawyers' work across every claim type, with settlements reaching into the millions, including a $6.3 million motor vehicle accident result.
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Minaa Mohmand
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Special Counsel with over a decade of experience since 2016, handling complex, higher-value claims: serious injuries, disputed liability and matters heading to litigation, across motor vehicle accidents, work injury damages, public liability and TPD.
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Esther Ihn
Senior Associate
Senior Associate with over a decade of experience exclusively in personal injury claims since 2014, handling hundreds of matters across motor vehicle accidents, workers compensation, work injury damages and public liability. The team's go-to for serious-injury claims.
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Mihana Wen
Associate
Associate with 6 years' experience since 2020 and a recent $1.95 million motor vehicle accident settlement, known for not taking no for an answer and lodging appeal submissions for injuries insurers try to deem below the 11% whole person impairment threshold for pain and suffering. The go-to for car accident claims, guiding clients from the first CTP submission through to settlement with a compassionate, hands-on approach.
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