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TAC Compensation and Payouts in Victoria
If you were injured in a transport accident in Victoria, your compensation could be worth anywhere from a few thousand dollars to well over a million. Impairment lump sums run from $9,890 at 11% impairment to $451,650 for total impairment, and a common law claim can add pain and suffering damages of up to $701,620 and lost earnings of up to $1,578,760 on top.
The reason that range is so wide comes down to two things: how your impairment is assessed, and whether a common law claim is open to you at all.
There is no single average TAC payout. The TAC does not publish one, and any single figure would mislead you. Figures on a page only take you so far. What most people want to know is what their own claim is worth, and that takes a conversation.
If you want to know where your situation sits on that scale, we can tell you in one free conversation, whether you are still finding your feet after a car accident or already working through a claim.
The three parts of a TAC payout
TAC compensation is not one figure. It is made up of up to three separate components, and most people are only ever offered the first.
No-fault benefits cover your medical treatment and income support while you recover, regardless of who caused the accident.
An impairment benefit is a one-off lump sum, paid once your permanent impairment reaches 11% whole person impairment, calculated on a sliding scale.
Common law damages are a separate, larger claim available where someone else caused the accident and your injury is serious. This is where pain and suffering and lost earnings are compensated properly, and it is often where the real money sits.
Not everyone receives all three. Which apply to you depends on your medical assessment, your work history, and whether a common law claim is available.
What the TAC pays regardless of fault
- Medical treatment, hospital and specialist costs
- Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
- Income support while you cannot work
- A lump sum if your injuries prove permanent, from 11% whole person impairment
- Pain and suffering and loss of earnings, where another driver caused a serious injury
Most
car accident injuries resolve, and those claims cover treatment and time off work without ever reaching a lump sum. The lump sum exists for the ones that don't.
Once your injuries have settled as far as they are going to, independent doctors examine you and put a figure on how much permanent function you have lost. A neck that never fully recovered, a back that still stops you lifting, an injury that changed what work you can do.
That figure is a percentage, and it decides the lump sum: nothing below 11%, and rising steadily above it. The same amounts apply to every traffic accident claim in Victoria, whether you were in a car, on a bike, on a tram or on foot. What differs between claims is the impairment percentage, not the scale.
Where another driver caused a serious injury there is a second, larger claim for pain and suffering and lost earnings, with its own thresholds and maximums.
The claim itself runs through five stages, from lodging to settlement, and we handle all of them.
The impairment benefit lump sum
Whole person impairment, or WPI, is a percentage that measures how much of your overall function you have permanently lost because of your injuries. It is assessed by an independent doctor against a standard set of medical guides, once your injuries have stabilised, usually twelve months or more after the accident. Where you have more than one injury, the individual scores are combined into a single overall percentage.
That percentage is what decides the payout. An impairment of 10% or less receives no lump sum. From 11%, you qualify for the impairment benefit. And 30% or more is one of the gateways into a much larger common law claim.
A single percentage point either side of 11% or 30% changes the outcome enormously, which is exactly why the assessment matters, and why it is worth getting advice before you accept one.
TAC impairment benefit, selected amounts
| WPI | Benefit | WPI | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11% | $9,890 | 50% | $107,990 |
| 15% | $17,210 | 60% | $139,770 |
| 20% | $26,880 | 70% | $175,870 |
| 25% | $40,330 | 80% | $215,060 |
| 30% | $53,780 | 90% | $293,920 |
| 40% | $80,680 | 100% | $451,650 |
Every percentage point in between has its own figure, rising steadily across the scale. A minor's benefit of $244 applies separately. That percentage is not a fixed fact about your injury. Different qualified examiners can assess the same injuries differently, and the gap between two adjacent bands is substantial. This is where we can help
Source: TAC indexation of benefits schedule, current 1 July 2026, indexed annually under the Transport Accident Act 1986.
Common law claims, and what they are worth
Where another person caused or contributed to the accident and your injury is serious, a common law claim may be available on top of everything above.
Either of two thresholds can open it: an impairment assessment of 30% or more, or a Serious Injury Certificate from the TAC. If the TAC refuses a certificate, an application can be made to the County Court of Victoria for permission to proceed.
Pain and suffering compensates for the impact on your life. Pecuniary loss covers past and future loss of earnings, calculated from your income, your age and how your impairment affects your capacity to work. Both are indexed annually.
You do not need to be blameless. Being partly responsible reduces what you receive rather than ruling you out.
Common law payout figures 2026
| Common law claim | Amount, from 1 July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Minimum threshold to claim | $70,130 |
| Maximum pain and suffering | $701,620 |
| Maximum pecuniary loss (past and/or future earnings) | $1,578,760 |
TAC compensation calculators
There isn't a reliable one, and any figure produced by a calculator before your impairment has been assessed is a guess.
A calculator would need to know your whole person impairment percentage. That figure does not exist until independent medical examiners have assessed you, usually at least twelve months after the accident.
What the tables above will tell you is what each level of impairment is worth once the assessment is done.
What decides the amount
- How permanent the injury is. Injuries that resolve fully attract treatment and income support but no lump sum.
- Your whole person impairment percentage. Assessed against a standard scale once your injuries have stabilised.
- Whether anyone else was at fault. No fault benefits apply either way. A common law claim requires someone else to have contributed.
- Whether the injury meets the serious injury threshold. This opens the largest part of a claim.
Why the assessment matters more than the tables
Almost every amount here is fixed by statute. The impairment percentage is the part that is not, and it determines nearly everything else.
The assessment depends on which specialists examine you, how thoroughly your injuries are documented, whether psychological injury has been assessed alongside physical injury, and whether the examination happened at the right time. An assessment carried out before your injuries have stabilised can undervalue a claim permanently.
If you are approaching an assessment, or you have been given one you are unsure about, that is the point at which advice is worth most.
Death and dependency benefits
Where someone has died in a road accident, the TAC provides benefits to dependent partners and children and assistance with funeral expenses. Depending on the circumstances, a further claim may also be available.
The amounts depend on the family's circumstances, which is not something to work out from a table. If you have lost someone, talk to us when you are ready, and not before.
What a real TAC payout looks like
These are court-decided awards in real Victorian transport accident cases. They are not a prediction of what any future claim will receive, because every case is assessed on its own facts.
Duman v Kaini [2020] VCC 896 — $300,000. A 53-year-old injured in a transport accident developed a major depressive disorder and a chronic pain disorder, requiring TMS and electroconvulsive treatment, with ongoing difficulties with memory, concentration, motivation and sleep. A reminder that psychological injuries from a transport accident are taken as seriously as physical ones.
Cassidy v Metro Trains Melbourne [2023] VCC 1866 — $225,000. A passenger disembarked from a moving train and fell heavily onto the platform, suffering a neck fracture, a shoulder injury and a psychiatric injury. The award was reduced by 10% for contributory negligence. Two things worth taking from it: an incident on
public transport counts as a transport accident, and a payout is still possible where the injured person is found partly responsible.
Hart v Frost-Cornwall [2025] VSC 330 — $400,000. A backseat passenger in a car accident suffered a broken eye socket, cheekbone, jaw, nose, wrist and knee, along with a psychiatric injury, requiring multiple knee surgeries and ending his intended career as a roof tiler. An example of how a serious orthopaedic injury with lasting career impact is reflected in an award, and of the fact that
passengers can claim.
FAQs
Do you pay tax on a TAC payout?
Generally no. Lump sum compensation, including the impairment benefit and common law damages, is not treated as taxable income. Weekly income support payments generally are. This is general information only, and worth confirming with a financial adviser.
How much is a TAC payout for the death of a family member?
The TAC provides a dependency lump sum of $237,240, along with weekly benefits for dependent partners and children, and funeral expenses up to $19,940. If you have lost someone, talk to us when you are ready.
How long does a TAC payout take?
Impairment benefits are usually assessed once your injuries have stabilised, often twelve to eighteen months after the accident. Common law claims take longer. Get in touch and we can give you a realistic timeframe once we understand your situation.
Will the TAC's first offer be its best offer?
Not necessarily. The gap between what is offered and what you may be entitled to usually comes down to your impairment assessment and whether a common law claim is available, and the TAC will not necessarily flag either. A free claim check costs nothing and can tell you whether there is more on the table.
Your lawyers
Your claim is run by Irini Piperoglou or Antonia Gianasmidis from our office at 34 Church Street, Abbotsford. We will explain the assessment process in plain terms and tell you honestly what we think your claim is likely to be worth.
No Win No Fee, which includes finding out where you stand. How our no win no fee guarantee works
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