Personal injury time limits in Queensland for every claim type (2026)
Personal injury time limits in Queensland depend on the claim type. Most court claims must start within 3 years, but notices are due much sooner: CTP and PIPA notices are usually due within 9 months, or within 1 month of first seeing a lawyer if that comes first. WorkCover applications are due within 6 months, and TPD complaints follow AFCA’s own time limits.
Key takeaways
What are the personal injury time limits in Queensland?
Personal injury time limits in Queensland come in two layers. The first is the pre-court notice that each scheme requires. The second is the limitation period for court proceedings, which is usually 3 years under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 s 11.
Notice deadlines often catch people out, because they are much shorter. Our pillar guides cover each scheme in depth: CTP claims, WorkCover claims, public liability claims, medical negligence claims and TPD claims.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can turn on small facts, such as when symptoms first appeared. So if a date is close, a Queensland lawyer can check the personal injury time limits that apply to you.
Personal injury time limits in Queensland for CTP and PIPA claims
The table below lists the main personal injury time limits for Queensland claims. Also, each row links to the law or official page it comes from.
|
Claim or step |
Time limit |
Source |
|---|---|---|
|
CTP: Notice of Accident Claim Form |
Earlier of 9 months after the accident (or first symptoms) and 1 month after first consulting a lawyer |
|
|
CTP: unidentified vehicle (Nominal Defendant) |
Within 3 months. The claim is barred if no notice within 9 months |
|
|
CTP: court proceedings |
3 years. If notice was given in time, within 6 months after the notice or leave |
|
|
PIPA: Part 1 Notice of Claim (public liability) |
Earlier of 9 months after the incident (or first symptoms) and 1 month after first instructing a law practice, once the respondent is identified |
|
|
PIPA: Part 2 of the notice |
Within 2 months after the respondent’s response, or presumed response |
|
|
Medical negligence: initial notice |
Earlier of 9 months after the incident (or first symptoms) and 1 month after first instructing a law practice |
|
|
Medical negligence: Part 1 Notice of Claim |
Within 12 months after the provider responds to the initial notice. Must include a medical specialist’s report in most cases |
|
|
Child injured in medical treatment: Part 1 (by parent or guardian) |
Earlier of 6 years after the parent knew, or ought reasonably to have known, of the injury and 18 months after first consulting a practitioner |
|
|
PIPA claims: court proceedings |
3 years. If a complying Part 1 notice was given in time, within 6 months after it or leave |
Personal injury time limits for WorkCover, children, special cases and TPD
Next, the table continues with WorkCover, children and people under a disability, claims with no limitation period and TPD complaints.
|
Claim or step |
Time limit |
Source |
|---|---|---|
|
WorkCover: application for compensation |
Within 6 months after the entitlement arises. Back-pay limited if lodged after 20 business days |
|
|
WorkCover: review of an insurer decision |
Within 3 months after written notice of the decision |
|
|
WorkCover: disputing a DPI assessment |
Tell WorkCover within 20 business days of the assessment notice |
|
|
WorkCover: common law damages |
3 years. If a complying notice of claim was given in time, proceedings within 60 days after the compulsory conference |
|
|
Children and people of unsound mind |
3 years after the disability ends (for a child, generally by age 21) |
|
|
Newly discovered decisive fact |
Court may extend to 1 year after the fact became known |
|
|
Child sexual or serious physical abuse |
No limitation period |
|
|
Dust-related conditions (not tobacco) |
No limitation period |
|
|
TPD: AFCA complaint after stopping work |
Claim within 2 years of permanently ceasing work. Complaint within 4 years of the decision |
|
|
TPD: other AFCA complaints |
Within 6 years of the decision |
|
|
Appeal from an AFCA super decision |
Within 28 days after receiving the determination (question of law only) |
Personal injury time limits for CTP notices
For a car accident, the key document is the Notice of Accident Claim Form. Under MAIA s 37, it is due by the earlier of two dates. One is 9 months after the accident, while the other is 1 month after you first consult a lawyer about a claim.
So seeing a lawyer can bring the deadline forward. If you miss it, the obligation to give notice continues. However, you must then give a reasonable excuse for the delay, and the insurer decides whether to accept it.
Personal injury time limits for public liability and medical negligence notices
For injuries in public places, PIPA requires a Part 1 Notice of Claim (s 9(3)). It is due within 9 months, or 1 month after you first instruct a law practice if earlier. However, the 1-month clock only starts once you know who the respondent is.
In contrast, medical negligence claims have an extra step. First, you give an initial notice, with the same 9-month and 1-month timing (s 9A(4)). The provider then has 1 month to respond and give you copies of its records (s 9A(8)).
After that, Part 1 of the notice is due within 12 months after the provider responds. The usual 9-month rule in s 9(3) does not apply to Part 1. In most cases, Part 1 must include a medical specialist’s report. However, a failure-to-warn claim does not need one (s 9A(9)–(10)).
WorkCover deadlines
You generally must lodge a WorkCover application within 6 months after your entitlement arises (WCRA s 131). Also, if you lodge more than 20 business days after that, the Act may limit back-payment.
In some cases, the insurer may waive the 6-month limit. For example, it may do so for a mistake or absence from Queensland. Separately, a common law claim against your employer has its own steps, as WorkCover Queensland explains. These include a notice of claim for damages.
Children, impaired capacity and late-discovered facts
Special rules protect people who cannot act for themselves. Under the LAA s 29, a person under a disability has 3 years after it ends to start a case. A child is under a disability until 18, so the limit is generally their 21st birthday.
Notice obligations also pause. Under MAIA s 40 and PIPA s 19, notice obligations pause during minority or legal incapacity. Even so, a parent or guardian can still give notice early.
However, children injured in medical treatment are an exception. A parent or guardian must give Part 1 within 6 years after they knew, or ought reasonably to have known, of the injury. If earlier, the limit is 18 months after they first consult a practitioner (PIPA s 20C). Still, this rule does not change the limitation period under the LAA (s 20A).
Finally, a court may extend time if a decisive material fact was not within your means of knowledge. In that case, the extension runs to 1 year after you learned of it (LAA s 31).
Personal injury claims with no time limit
Two kinds of claim sit outside the usual personal injury time limits in Queensland, because they have no limitation period. One is a claim for sexual or serious physical abuse of a child (LAA s 11A), while the other is a claim for a dust-related condition, not including tobacco-related injury (s 11(2)).
Even so, the PIPA notice limits in s 9(3) do not apply to child abuse claims (s 9(9C)). A court can still stay a proceeding if a fair trial is not possible.
TPD complaint time limits
TPD claims through super have no single legal lodgement deadline, because that depends on your policy. However, AFCA’s complaint limits are firm. Say your condition made you stop work permanently. Then AFCA needs the claim made within 2 years of ceasing work. In addition, the complaint is due within 4 years of the decision.
Also, our guide to a rejected TPD claim explains the fund’s 45-day response limit and the AFCA process. If you also have a WorkCover claim, see TPD and WorkCover at the same time.
What happens if you miss personal injury time limits in Queensland?
Missing one of the personal injury time limits in Queensland does not always end a claim. For CTP and PIPA claims, the obligation to give notice continues. You must then give a reasonable excuse for the delay. By contrast, missing the 3-year limitation period is much more serious, because you may lose the right to sue.
There are also safeguards. For instance, you may have given a complying notice before the limitation period ended. Then you may still start proceedings within 6 months after the notice (PIPA s 59; MAIA s 57). For what happens after you lodge, see how long a claim takes, and for payouts see our compensation guide.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Related guides
About the author
Marshall Fenech, Editor
Marshall Fenech is the editor of Compare Personal Injury Lawyer QLD. He researches Queensland personal injury law firms and claim rules, checks every fact against public sources such as the Queensland Law Society, MAIC, WorkCover Queensland and Queensland legislation, and dates each check. He does not give legal advice.
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