A Tasmanian motorist has been denied compensation for injuries suffered in a car crash after a tribunal found he waited too long to lodge his claim.
The man swerved to avoid a head-on collision on January 31, 2019, sending his car down a steep embankment. The vehicle was written off in the crash.
Despite that, he did not notify the Motor Accidents Insurance Board until February 2025 – more than six years after the incident.
He told the tribunal he had not immediately realised how serious his injuries were.
The Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) dismissed both his compensation claim and his bid for an extension of time this month.
The tribunal found it had no power to extend the deadline beyond six years.
“I conclude that the tribunal does not have the power to extend time beyond six years after the date of the motor accident,” it said.
“Because the claimant requires an extension of more than six years, granting any extension would be futile.”
Under Tasmanian regulations, crash victims must give written notice of injuries within one year, though TASCAT can extend that period by up to five years.
“It is clear from the regulations’ text that [the regulation] prescribes exhaustively the period within which to make a claim,” the tribunal said.
The driver’s legal team argued Tasmania’s Limitation Act 1974 should apply instead, which sets out different rules about when the time limit begins.
But the tribunal rejected that argument, finding the state’s motor accident compensation scheme operates separately from general limitation laws.
