What to do after a car accident in NSW — the first 24 hours.

At the scene

1. Safety first

Before anything else, check yourself and everyone else for injury. Call 000if anyone is hurt, if there's a fire or fuel risk, or if the situation is dangerous. Turn on hazard lights, and only move vehicles out of the traffic lane if it's safe to do so. Paperwork and photos can wait — people come first.

2. Call police if you need to

In NSW, call police if:

• Anyone is injured or killed.
• A driver fails to stop or won't exchange details.
• You suspect drugs or alcohol are involved.
• A vehicle needs to be towed, or there's a hazard.

Even for a minor crash, reporting it and getting a police event number is useful for the claim later.

3. Exchange details

You're required to exchange particulars. Get the other driver's name, address, phone, vehicle registration, and licence and insurer details if they'll share them. Give yours in return. Keep it civil and brief.

4. Don't argue fault — document instead

Resist the urge to thrash out who's to blame at the roadside. People misjudge what just happened, and a hasty apology can be twisted later. Instead, document:

• Photos of both vehicles, the damage, and their position on the road.
• The wider scene — intersection, signs, skid marks, conditions.
• The names and numbers of any witnesses before they leave.
• The time, date, location and weather.

That night and the next day

5. See a doctor — even if you feel okay

Adrenaline hides pain at the scene. Whiplash and other soft-tissue injuries often show up the next morning, not at the crash. If anything aches even slightly, see a GP — same day or next day — and tell them clearly that you were in a car accident and the date. That record matters medically and for any claim. See delayed injury after a car accident.

6. Sort the car

Notify your motor insurer about the vehicle. Damage to the car is the property side — separate from any injury claim — and runs through your comprehensive policy or the at-fault driver's insurer. If your car can't be driven, arrange a tow to a safe place. See property damage claim NSW.

7. Write down what happened

While it's fresh, jot down your account of the crash — direction of travel, speeds, what each car did, what you saw. Memory fades fast, and a contemporaneous note is valuable.

The deadline that's already ticking

Here's the part most people don't know: a clock starts the moment the crash happens. You have 28 days to put a CTP claim in to lock in fully backdated benefits. Miss it and you can usually still claim with a reasonable explanation, but you may lose some backdated entitlements.

The safe move is to get the claim in early — even before you're certain you're injured — so you're covered if symptoms appear. See the 28-day rule. For the bigger picture on what the scheme covers, see what CTP insurance covers.

A quick checklist

1. Safety — check for injury, call 000 if needed.
2. Police if anyone's hurt or a driver won't stop; get the event number.
3. Exchange details — name, rego, contact, insurer.
4. Photograph everything; get witness contacts.
5. Don't argue fault at the scene.
6. See a GP, even if you feel fine.
7. Notify your motor insurer about the car.
8. Get the CTP claim in inside 28 days.

For a longer read on the same topic, our blog covers it in more depth: what to do after a car accident in NSW.

What we do for you

One call and we take the claim off your plate from step one. We get the CTP claim in inside 28 days, set up treatment and income support, deal with the insurer, and coordinate the car alongside. You handle the recovery; we handle the rest. We don't take a contingency cut from your damages.

Take the short check at /check, or call (02) 7238 7379 and a real person picks up.