The Law Handbook 2024

934 NOTES The law in this chapter is current as at 1 September 2023. This chapter applies to cases where people are injured or die as a result of transport accidents. A transport accident may involve a motor vehicle, motorcycle, taxi, bus, train or tram. Transport Accident Commission (TAC) What is the TAC? The Transport Accident Commission ( TAC ) was established by the Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic) (‘ TA Act ’). The TAC administers and pays compensation to the dependants of persons who die, or to persons who are injured, as a result of a transport accident. Legal advice should be sought if there are any dif­fi culties or queries involving a transport accident. (For the TAC’s contact details, see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter.) Entitlement The scheme covers injuries or death as a result of a transport accident, including motor vehicle accidents or public transport accidents, if the accident occurred in Victoria. It also covers accidents where a Victorian registered vehicle was involved in an accident in another Australian state and the injured person was a Victorian resident or the driver of, or passenger in, a Victorian registered motor car. A ‘transport accident’ is defined to mean an incident directly caused by the driving of a motor car or motor vehicle, a railway train or a tram. As of 25 September 2018, a transport accident also includes a collision between a cyclist and a motor vehicle (stationary or moving). Also, from 19 November 2013, an incident involving the opening or closing of a door of a bus, train or tram can be a transport accident. Benefits are not payable if: 1 in the case of a motor vehicle involved in an accident, the accident is not reported to the police, or in the case of a transport accident involving a railway train or tram, a report of the accident is not made to the operator of the railway train or tram. However, the TAC does have a discretion to excuse a failure to report a transport accident; 2 there is an entitlement to WorkSafe benefits under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic) or other Victorian Acts of parliament or other interstate Acts similar to the Accident Compensation Act; 3 the injured person was involved in, or a spectator at, an organised motor-car race or speed trial at the time of the accident. Any claim on the TAC must be made within one year of the accident or death or, if a person is injured, one year after the injury becomes apparent. The TAC can extend this to three years in certain circumstances. The general question of who was to blame or who caused or contributed to the accident is irrelevant under the TA Act. The Act also applies irrespective of whether a person received superannuation or social welfare payments. There are further restrictions on receiving benefits (apart from medical or rehabilitation services) where the injured person was a driver and is convicted of a drug or drink-driving charge or other serious offence as set out in sections 39 and 40 of the TA Act. Other restrictions will occur where the driver was unlicensed or the motor car was not compulsorily insured under the TA Act. In these circumstances benefits can be reduced or even disallowed. Benefits payable The amount of benefits payable under the TA Act generally depend on the date of the transport accident. The amount of excess (amount of medical expenses to be first paid by an injured person or dependant) also depend on the date of the accident (see ‘Medical and like expenses (s 60 TA Act)’, below). No medical 10.2 Transport accident injuries Contributor: Brian Wright, Reserve Magistrate, Magistrates’ Court of Victoria