Losing someone you love in a motor accident is a devastating thing to go through, and no amount of compensation can begin to make up for it. In the midst of grief, though, families are often left facing very real practical worries as well, the cost of a funeral, the loss of the income the household depended on, and an uncertain future. It can feel wrong to think about money at such a time, but understanding what support is available is part of looking after the people the person who died would have wanted cared for.
The New South Wales CTP scheme does provide for families after a fatal motor accident, and there is dedicated support to help you through it. This guide explains, gently and clearly, what a family can claim, so that you know the help is there when you are ready to think about it.
Please treat this as general information rather than advice about your own situation, and do seek advice about your particular circumstances. If you need support right now, SIRA runs a fatality support service through CTP Assist on 1300 656 919, and speaking to your doctor or a counsellor is just as important as any claim.
What a family can claim after a fatal motor accident
When a person dies as a result of a motor accident in NSW, the scheme set up by the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (NSW), regulated by the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, known as SIRA, can provide several different kinds of support to their family. They serve different purposes, and some depend on whether another party was at fault while others do not.
The table below gives an overview.
| What can be claimed | Who it is for | Is fault required? |
|---|---|---|
| Funeral expenses | The person who arranged and paid for the funeral | No, payable regardless of fault |
| Compensation for loss of support | Dependants of the person who died | Yes, another party must have been at fault |
| Compensation for psychological injury | Close family members or witnesses who suffer a recognised psychiatric injury | Early benefits may be available regardless of fault |
Each of these is explained below.
Funeral expenses
The most immediate cost a family faces is the funeral, and this is covered regardless of who was at fault. Under the Act, the CTP scheme pays the reasonable funeral expenses of a person killed in a motor accident, and importantly this applies even if the person who died was at fault for the accident.
Reasonable funeral expenses generally cover the things a family would expect, such as the funeral director’s fees, the service, the coffin, the cemetery or cremation costs, and related expenses, and they can include the reasonable cost of transporting the person to their usual place of residence or an appropriate place. This is intended to ease the financial pressure at the very time it is hardest to deal with.
There is one situation to be aware of. If the person died in an accident that happened while they were working, their death may fall under the workers compensation scheme instead, which has its own funeral benefit, rather than the motor accident scheme. Where that applies, it is worth getting advice about which scheme covers what.
Compensation for dependants: loss of financial support
For many families, the deepest practical consequence of a death is the loss of the support the person provided, both the income they brought in and the things they did for the household. Where the death was caused by the fault of another party, such as a negligent driver, the people who were dependent on the person who died may be able to claim compensation for that loss. This is often called a compensation to relatives claim.
What it compensates is the loss of the support the dependants would have received had the person lived. That includes the financial support, the income and contributions the household relied on, projected into the future, and it can also include the value of the services the person provided, such as caring for children, or work around the home. Reasonable funeral and headstone costs can form part of this claim as well.
Two features are worth understanding. First, this is a fault based claim, so it depends on another party having been responsible for the accident, unlike the funeral benefit, which is payable regardless of fault. Second, a single claim is made on behalf of all the dependants together, usually by the legal personal representative of the person who died, rather than each dependant bringing a separate claim. Because it involves valuing years of lost support, and often the services a person quietly provided that only become visible once they are gone, these claims benefit greatly from careful preparation.
Who counts as a dependant?
A dependant is, broadly, a close family member who relied on the person who died, whether wholly or partly. This commonly includes a spouse or de facto partner and the children of the person who died, and it can extend to others who were genuinely dependent on them, such as a parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling, depending on the circumstances.
Dependency is not only about a wage. A partner who relied on the deceased’s income, a child who relied on their care, and a relative who depended on their support in other ways can all be affected by the loss. Working out who was dependent, and to what extent, is part of what a compensation to relatives claim involves, and it is worth advice, because the people affected are not always only the obvious ones.
There is also a specific benefit that can apply where the person who died was a child under 16 living in NSW, which may be available even where the accident was not caused by another driver. If that is your situation, it is worth asking about.
Psychological injury to family members
Grief itself is not a claim. But the sudden, traumatic loss of a loved one in a motor accident can cause a close family member, or someone who witnessed the accident, to develop a recognised psychiatric injury, sometimes called nervous shock. Where that happens, that person may have their own claim under the CTP scheme, separate from the funeral and dependency claims above.
This is a personal injury claim in its own right. A close family member of the person who died, or a witness to the accident, who suffers a diagnosed psychiatric condition as a result can access treatment and support, and, where another party was at fault and the injury is serious enough, may be able to claim damages. Because this turns on a proper diagnosis of a recognised psychiatric illness rather than ordinary grief, it is closely related to the way psychological injuries are assessed generally, which we explain in our guide on psychological injury after a car accident. If the loss has affected your mental health in this way, please do speak to your doctor, both for your own sake and because the medical record matters.
If the driver was uninsured or unidentified, and the time limits
If the vehicle that caused the death was uninsured, or cannot be identified, such as in a hit and run, a claim can still be made, against the Nominal Defendant, which stands in where there is no identified insurer. For an unidentified vehicle, reasonable efforts to identify it are expected, as we explain in our guide on the Nominal Defendant.
Time limits apply to these claims, as they do to all CTP matters. A claim for funeral expenses and other statutory benefits should generally be made within three months, and a compensation to relatives claim generally needs to be brought within three years. These timeframes can feel impossibly soon when you are grieving, which is exactly why it helps to let someone else carry the process for you.
How Stephen Young Lawyers can help
At a time like this, the last thing a family should have to manage is a claims process, deadlines and negotiations with an insurer. That is something you can hand over.
An experienced personal injury lawyer can take on the practical side entirely, arranging the funeral expenses claim, preparing the compensation to relatives claim on behalf of all the dependants, and advising any family member affected by psychological injury about their own entitlements. We can deal with the insurer, or the Nominal Defendant where the driver was uninsured or unidentified, so that you are not left to navigate it alone while you grieve.
For more on how these claims work, see our guides on statutory benefits versus common law damages and on psychological injury after a car accident. You can read about your broader options on our motor vehicle accident claims page. As an Accredited Specialist personal injury firm based in Sydney CBD, with a multilingual team and a No Win No Fee approach for eligible matters, we can guide you through this with care and without pressure.
No lawyer can promise a particular outcome, and nothing can undo your loss. What we can do is make sure your family receives the support the scheme provides, and that dealing with it does not add to what you are already carrying.
Speak with us when you are ready
If you have lost a family member in a motor accident in New South Wales, there is support available to your family, and you do not have to work out how to access it on your own.
Contact Stephen Young Lawyers for a free, no obligation consultation, whenever you are ready. Call us or get in touch through our website to speak with an experienced and compassionate personal injury lawyer about your family’s situation.