What does TAC cover?

The TAC is Victoria’s insurer for injury claims relating to motor vehicle accidents.

The covers instances where there is no fault in relation to an accident, as well as instances in which there is fault on behalf of a party in relation to an accident.

The TAC will cover accidents that occur in Victoria, and in some instances those occurring in other states if your vehicle is Victorian registered.

The four main TAC entitlements are:

• Medical expenses
• Income payments
• Impairment benefit lump sum claim
• Common law lump sum claim

Medical expenses

The TAC covers a broad range of medical and like expenses for injured people.

In general, the more serious the injury is, the wider the range of benefits that will be provided to an injured person. For very traumatic accidents, for example, those that cause paraplegia or other severe injuries, the TAC offers a significant range of services including supported accommodation or modification to a home.

More generally, GP visits, radiological scans, medication, physiotherapy and other similar treatments are funded by the TAC.

There is no particular time limit for which medical and like expenses are payable.

Weekly payments

For anyone injured in a motor vehicle accident and with an accepted TAC claim, there is the potential to obtain weekly payments if your ability to work is impacted.

Weekly payments are payable where the TAC considers the injured person to be a “worker”. More detail on who is considered a worker can be found elsewhere on our site.

Weekly payments are payable for up to 3 years from the date of the accident.

After the first 18 months of payments, the test to qualify for weekly payments does ease, which allows some people that may not have been working at the time of the accident to claim weekly payments.

Impairment benefit

Anyone with a permanent impairment may apply for an impairment benefit.

This is a process where a lump sum will be paid to compensate people who have injuries that meet certain thresholds of severity.

In order to claim an impairment benefit lump sum, you will need to undergo examination by medical specialists trained particular types of medical assessments.

Once a minimum threshold of impairment is established a lump sum is payable to the injured person that does not impact their entitlement to medical and like expenses or weekly payments.

Dependency benefits

In a situation where a family member or partner dies in a transport accident, it may be open to the surviving spouse, children or other family members to bring a claim for dependency benefits.

Firstly, it must be established that the deceased was an earner or contributed to the household in other ways.

Secondly, it must be established that the person making the claim was dependent on the deceased person.

Both ongoing payments and a lump sum payment are available in dependency claims as well as coverage for funerals and burial.

Common law lump sum claim

If there is fault on behalf of another party in causing or contributing to a transport accident, the injured party may be able to apply for a common law payment.

This is a lump sum payment that is paid by the TAC to compensate an injured person for any injuries and loss of earnings sustained due to the transport accident.

The TAC will insure the at fault party in most circumstances.

If the fault is on behalf of, for example, the manufacturer of the vehicle, an airbag manufacturer or a mechanic, then the TAC may potentially not insure the at fault party.

In most cases of registered motor vehicles the TAC will insure the at fault party regardless of the registration status of the at fault vehicle.

What does the TAC not cover?

The TAC does not cover any property damage as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

This includes damage to the motor vehicle itself and to personal items of a driver or passenger, or damaged fences or housing.

The TAC will not pay legal expenses incurred as a result of pursuing any at fault driver for property damage and will not pay for things such as hire cars.

Conclusion

Think of the TAC as insurance that covers people who have suffered injury in a motor vehicle accident.

The TAC will cover people regardless as to whether or not there was fault on behalf of another party contributing to their accident.

The four main TAC entitlements are: medical and like expenses, weekly payments, impairment benefit lump sum and common law lump sum.