The ACT rebuilt its compulsory injury insurance from the ground up in 2020, swapping a traditional fault-based CTP scheme for the Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) scheme — and in doing so became one of the most claimant-friendly jurisdictions in the country for crash injuries. The premium still arrives quietly inside your registration bill, which is exactly why many Canberrans have no idea the change happened. Here's what the modern scheme does, and where its coverage stops dead.
MAI insurance covers injuries to people — including you, at fault or not. It contributes nothing to panel beating. Canberra's kangaroos and hailstorms are a property-cover problem, and property cover is entirely optional and entirely yours to arrange.
The MAI scheme: no-fault by default
Since 1 February 2020 (under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2019), anyone injured in a motor accident in the ACT can access defined benefits — treatment and rehabilitation costs, income replacement and quality-of-life payments for permanent impairment — for up to five years, regardless of who caused the crash. That includes the driver in a single-vehicle accident. People with more serious injuries caused by another's negligence can pursue common-law damages beyond the defined benefits.
The scheme is delivered by a small panel of licensed private insurers; the one attached to your registration is the one that manages a claim involving your vehicle, and the ACT's MAI Commission regulates their premiums and conduct. Premiums are collected with rego, and the differences between insurers are modest because they're regulated. Claims have notification time limits — report early via your insurer or the scheme's channels (Access Canberra links the current process).
For drivers who cross the border daily — which in Canberra is a lifestyle, not an event — note that injury claims are generally governed by the scheme of the place where the crash happens, so a Queanbeyan commuter can find themselves dealing with the NSW scheme on the way to work and the ACT one on the way home.
The optional half: property cover in Canberra
MAI insurance pays nothing for vehicles or property. The familiar ladder — third party property, third party fire and theft, comprehensive (Moneysmart explains each) — carries three distinctly Canberran weightings:
- Hail. The January 2020 hailstorm that tore through Canberra wrote off vehicles by the thousand across the city's carparks, including whole government fleets. Comprehensive cover, and where the car sleeps, are the difference between an inconvenience and a write-off you own outright.
- Kangaroos. The ACT records animal strikes at a rate most capitals don't approach. Most comprehensive policies cover animal collision; check the single-vehicle excess treatment.
- Theft, moderate but real — see our ACT car theft guide for what's actually targeted.
National motor premiums rose at double-digit annual rates at the 2023–24 peak before easing; ACT comprehensive pricing generally sits mid-pack among the capitals. Re-quote at renewal, and weigh agreed value on anything unusual.
Buying or selling a car in the ACT
Registration — and the MAI insurance inside it — stays with an ACT vehicle when it's sold, and the transfer is completed through Access Canberra (selling an ACT registered vehicle has the current steps). The insurance angles:
- Buyers: injury cover travels with the rego; property cover doesn't exist until you create it. Arrange third party property or comprehensive before the drive home — even a short one down the Tuggeranong Parkway.
- Sellers: complete your side of the transfer promptly, then cancel or move your comprehensive policy for the unused-premium refund.
What this means if you're selling on MotorLoop
Canberra's market moves fast on clean, well-documented cars, and buyers from Queanbeyan and the surrounding region shop ACT listings by default. State the rego expiry, note the insurer only if asked — and listing is free. Replacing it? Browse used cars across every state and territory.
Related
- Buying or selling a car in the ACT: the complete checklist
- Car theft in the ACT: what Canberra drivers need to know
- Car insurance around the world: how other countries cover their drivers
- Car insurance in Australia: FAQs
- ANCAP vs Used Car Safety Ratings: choosing a genuinely safe used car
FAQs
What replaced CTP in the ACT?
The Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) scheme, which commenced 1 February 2020. It pays defined benefits — treatment, income replacement and quality-of-life payments — for up to five years to people injured in ACT motor accidents regardless of fault, with common-law damages preserved for more serious injuries caused by another's negligence.
Am I covered if I crash and it was my own fault?
For your injuries, generally yes — the MAI scheme's defined benefits don't depend on fault, which is the biggest change from the ACT's old CTP model. Damage to your car in the same crash is only covered if you hold your own comprehensive policy.
I live in Canberra but crashed in NSW — which scheme applies?
Injury claims are generally handled under the scheme of the place where the crash happened, so a crash on the NSW side of the border typically falls under the NSW CTP scheme even for ACT-registered vehicles. Property damage claims go through your own insurer as usual, wherever it happened.