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It is one thing for the insurers to be undercompensating unrepresented claimants, but it is quite another for them to fail to provide them the same level of rehabilitation and treatment that they provide to claimants who have legal support, writes Travis Schultz.
Queenslanders are blessed in many ways, and two of those blessings are that they have arguably the best CTP and workers’ compensation schemes in the country. These compensation schemes are fully funded, provide good access to rehabilitation and treatment, and provide lump-sum compensation for not-at-fault claimants whose injuries will have lifelong consequences.
In the last financial year, injured Queensland motorists who had a lawyer received, on average, total claim payments of $174,442. On the other hand, those who did not have access to legal support received only $19,595 on average. That disparity is striking – self-represented claimants receive only 11.23 per cent of what is paid in claims where claimants engage a lawyer for support.
Under the Motor Accident Insurance Act, the stated objectives of the legislation include to “promote and encourage, as far as practicable, the rehabilitation of claimants who sustain personal injury because of motor vehicle accidents” (See section 3 (h)). The figures reveal reasons for concern when one considers that in FY2024–25, self-represented claimants received rehabilitation and medical treatment payments of an average of $6,122, yet in FY25–26, despite the inflationary times we live in, that reduced to an average of only $4,559. That is a reduction of over 25 per cent in just one year. The figure compares particularly poorly with those who have the benefit of legal representation – who in FY25–26 received average treatment and rehabilitation expenses of $18,699. That means that the disparity is huge – those who have legal advice to guide them receive four times the amount of treatment and rehabilitation than unrepresented claimants receive.
The recent data should be a wake-up call for the regulators – it is one thing for the insurers to be undercompensating unrepresented claimants, but it is quite another for them to fail to provide them the same level of rehabilitation and treatment that they provide to claimants who have legal support. Perhaps someone needs to remind the insurers of another object set out in section 3 (f) of the act – “to encourage licensed insurers to act in a way that supports the integrity of, and public confidence in, the statutory insurance scheme”?
The full table of data from all of my RTI requests for the last four financial years is set out below:
Direct claimant
| Financial year | Number of claims | Average paid for claims | Average paid for treatment and rehab | Average paid for other claim payments | Average claim size |
| 2021–2022 | 876 | $9,859 | $4,203 | $1,001 | $15,063 |
| 2022–2023 | 893 | $11,612 | $4,334 | $1,309 | $17,337 |
| 2023–2024 | 1,309 | $9,815 | $4,794 | $3,411 | $18,201 |
| 2024–2025 | 1,504 | $18,806 | $6,122 | $4,339 | $27,267 |
| 2025–2026 | 1,372 | $12,018 | $4,559 | $3,018 | $19,595 |
| Financial year | Number of claims | Average paid for claims | Average paid for treatment and rehab | Average paid for other claim payments | Average claim size |
| 2021–2022 | 6,327 | $80,152 | $13,286 | $38,014 | $131,452 |
| 2022–2023 | 6,834 | $83,461 | $13,675 | $42,564 | $139,701 |
| 2023–2024 | 6,840 | $88,976 | $15,350 | $43,043 | $147,360 |
| 2024–2025 | 6,465 | $99,284 | $17,604 | $45,230 | $162,118 |
| 2025–2026 | 6,357 | $104,284 | $18,699 | $51,459 | $174,442 |
If there is any good news in this data, it is that there has been a slight reduction in the number of injured motorists in a position to be undercompensated by the CTP insurers – with a reduction from 1,504 to 1,372 self-represented claimants over the last two financial years. Overall claims numbers also dropped in 2026, which, hopefully, means that fewer people have been injured on Queensland roads.
The findings may also encourage reflection within the profession about the factors influencing a claimant’s decision to proceed without legal representation. They serve as a reminder that maintaining high standards of expertise, delivering meaningful client outcomes, and ensuring fees are fair, reasonable, and proportionate remain fundamental to building public confidence in legal services.
Travis Schultz is the managing partner of Travis Schultz & Partners.
