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Fact checked
In Australia, it's illegal to drive without compulsory third party (CTP) insurance. Because of this, if you're a car owner, it’s essential to understand your obligations when it comes to insuring your vehicle on the road.
Savvy’s informative guide covers what types of insurance are available in Australia, the potential implications of driving uninsured, whether you can drive an unregistered vehicle and more, so learn more with us today.
While certain types of car insurance are optional in Australia, all vehicles must have CTP insurance. Sometimes referred to as a Green Slip, this type of insurance provides coverage for personal injury or death caused by the driver of the insured vehicle to other road users and is a legal requirement to obtain vehicle registration in Australia. Depending on where you live, this may be included in your registration costs automatically.
CTP insurance is limited in scope, covering only your liability for injury or death to other people in a car accident. If you require more extensive coverage, there are several other types of car insurance offering different levels of cover that you can choose to purchase:
CTP insurance is a legal requirement for all registered cars in Australia, and it’s illegal to drive without it. There may be very limited circumstances temporarily exempting you from needing car insurance, depending on the state or territory you are in – for example, in South Australia, you may drive an uninsured and unregistered vehicle to fight a fire that poses a threat to life and property. However, in all other situations, you must have CTP insurance.
In most circumstances, you cannot legally drive an unregistered car. If the police catch you driving an unregistered vehicle, they can fine you or seize your vehicle. There are limited exceptions, such as driving a vehicle to get it registered.
In cases where you may need to drive an unregistered vehicle for repairs, for an inspection, to relocate the car or to attend a car rally, you may need to apply for an unregistered vehicle permit (UVP) to drive on public roads.
It is important to note that CTP insurance usually isn’t valid until your car is registered.
Driving without car insurance can have significant risks and consequences, including:
If you’re in an accident with another car and you are responsible for the accident, you are liable to cover all expenses. If you don’t have insurance, you will be personally responsible for covering all costs, and could also face penalties such as fines. If you’re uninsured but not at fault, the other driver will be responsible for paying for your costs, but you’ll need to seek out this compensation yourself without the backing of an insurance company.
However, if the other driver in the incident is uninsured, you’ll have to ask them for payment to cover the costs of the accident or potentially go to court or an accident tribunal if this is unsuccessful.
It’s important to note that CTP insurance does not cover damage to third-party property or any of the vehicles involved in an accident, so many drivers take out additional cover such as TPPD or comprehensive car insurance.
Select your car make and find out how much it may cost to insure, read helpful guides and compare quotes.
Disclaimer:
Savvy (ABN 78 660 493 194, ACR 541 339) provides readers with a variety of car insurance policies to compare. Savvy earns a commission from our partnered insurers each time a customer buys a car insurance policy via our website. All purchases are conducted via our partners’ websites. The integrity of our comparison service is unaffected by our partnerships with those businesses and our effort remains to bring further brands that do not already use our comparison service onboard.
Savvy’s comparison service includes selected products from a panel of trusted insurers and does not compare all products in the market. Any advice presented above or on other pages is general in nature and doesn’t consider your personal or business objectives, needs or finances. It’s always important to consider whether advice is suitable for you before purchasing an insurance policy. We always recommend readers to consult the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) of different policies before purchasing your car insurance.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence.
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© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence.
For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.