At a glance
- Emergency
- Call 000 for police, ambulance or fire; call the police if anyone is injured
- You must report to police if
- A vehicle is towed or carried from the scene, anyone is injured or dies, or details were not exchanged
- Always
- Stop and give your name and address to the other drivers, anyone injured and the owner of any damaged property
- Breakdown
- Stop in an emergency stopping lane, breakdown bay or on the side of the road, switch on hazard lights; roadside assistance is 13 11 11
- On a freeway
- A driver must not stop except in an emergency stopping lane
- Insurance
- Tell your insurer as soon as possible; note any QP number from police
If anyone is hurt in a crash in Queensland, call 000 and stay and help until the police arrive, unless you are getting medical or other help for someone. You must also report a crash to the police if a vehicle is towed or carried from the scene, if anyone is injured or dies, or if you did not get, or did not give, the other drivers’ details.
This guide draws on Legal Aid Queensland’s page on car accidents, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) page on what to do after an accident, the Queensland Government’s driving in Queensland page and the Queensland Road Rules, as checked on 19 October 2026. The Queensland Police Service’s own traffic crash pages could not be opened for this guide, so the reporting rules below are as Legal Aid and MAIC state them. It is general information, not legal advice.
What must I do before I leave the scene?
Legal Aid Queensland’s car accidents page says that if you are involved in an accident, you must stop and give your name and address to:
- the other driver or drivers involved
- anyone who is injured in the accident
- the owner of any other property that is damaged, for example a fence
If the other driver or the property owner is not there, you must leave your details if possible. If someone is injured, you must stay and help until the police arrive, unless you are getting medical or other help for yourself or others. If there are injuries or a pedestrian is involved, Legal Aid says it is extremely important to stop, give your details and make sure everyone involved gets medical attention.
When do I have to report a crash to the police?
Legal Aid says you must report a car accident to the police if:
- a vehicle is towed or carried from the scene
- anyone is injured or dies
- you do not get the details of the other drivers, or you do not give your details to the other drivers or to the owners of property damaged at the scene
If the police attend, they may test drivers for drugs or alcohol and ask questions. You must tell the police who owns the vehicle, who was driving, how the accident happened and the details of anyone who can give the police information about any other vehicle, person, animal or property involved. If you were a witness, passenger or the owner of the vehicle, even if you were not there, you must answer police questions. It is a criminal offence not to give this information to the police, or to lie about a traffic accident.
When should I call 000?
MAIC’s what to do after an accident page, last updated 16 June 2026, says to always call triple zero (000) in an emergency, which reaches police, fire or ambulance, and that you must call the police if someone is injured in a car accident in Queensland. The police may give you a QP number, which MAIC says is sometimes called a Qprime or a traffic incident number. Record it, because you will need it for a Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance claim later. The Queensland Government’s page for visitors adds that you should call 000 only for an emergency.
What should I record at the scene?
MAIC lists these steps:
- record the registration number of every vehicle that may have caused the accident, because you need it to make a CTP claim and to look up the vehicle’s CTP insurer
- collect the contact details of witnesses, including their full name, address, preferred contact number and email address
- get medical treatment and rehabilitation as soon as possible after an injury, ask your doctor whether you may need rehabilitation services, and keep any receipts
What does CTP insurance cover?
MAIC says CTP insurance is part of vehicle registration in Queensland. If you are hurt in a motor vehicle accident that was not your fault, you can claim through the at-fault vehicle’s CTP insurer for medical treatment, rehabilitation and compensation for your losses. Pedestrians, passengers, cyclists and drivers can make a claim. CTP may also cover funeral costs and compensation for close family members who were financially dependent on someone who died in an accident. CTP does not cover vehicle or property damage, injuries where the driver or rider is totally at fault, or injuries where no one was at fault, such as a single-vehicle accident involving only your vehicle.
What about car damage and insurance?
Legal Aid says to tell your car insurer about the accident as soon as possible. If someone thinks you were responsible, they may send a letter of demand asking you to pay for the damage, and if you are insured you can pass it to your insurer. If you are not insured and receive a letter of demand, Legal Aid says to get legal advice about whether you are fully or partly responsible, because liability can be shared. You can ask for evidence of the amount claimed, such as quotes or valuations. To claim against someone else, you can send a letter of demand with quotes to the other driver and their insurer, asking for payment within a fixed time, for example 14 days, and you can lodge a claim in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal or a court if they do not pay. You have 6 years to make a claim for motor vehicle property damage. If you do not know who owns the other vehicle but have the registration number, you can request a Queensland Motor Vehicle Register search, and if police attended you can request a copy of the traffic incident report.
What should I do if my car breaks down?
The Queensland Government’s driving in Queensland page says if you break down, stop your vehicle in an emergency stopping lane, a breakdown bay or on the side of the road, and switch on your hazard lights. If it is safe, get out and wait behind a safety barrier until help arrives. If there is no barrier and it is safe, remain in your vehicle until help arrives. It gives 13 11 11 as the roadside assistance number, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week across Australia. It also says you must move over and slow down when passing an emergency response vehicle that has its flashing light on.
Can I stop on a motorway?
Section 177 of the Queensland Road Rules says a driver must not stop on a freeway, a length of road with a freeway sign, unless the driver stops in an emergency stopping lane, and the maximum penalty is 20 penalty units. Section 178 says a driver, other than a bicycle or personal mobility device rider, must not stop in an emergency stopping lane unless the condition of the driver, a passenger or the vehicle, or any other factor, makes it necessary or desirable to stop for safety, and then only for no longer than is necessary. The same maximum penalty applies.
What if floods or fires block the road?
The Government’s page says not to drive through floodwaters, and that if you become trapped in floodwater you should stay calm and phone triple zero (000) or ask someone with a signal to call. For bushfires, it says to turn on headlights or hazard lights if smoke makes it hard to see, report fires by calling triple zero, wind windows up, keep water close by, turn vents and air-conditioning off, and obey police and firefighters. For non-life-threatening emergency help during severe weather, call the State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500 anywhere in Queensland.
Who do I call about a road hazard?
QLDTraffic’s roadworks notices say to phone 13 19 40 to report urgent road hazards, traffic incidents, signal faults or major breakdowns. Our guide to M1 and nearby roadworks lists current works on the roads that connect to the motorway, and our guide to phone and seatbelt cameras covers the rules that apply when you are driving.
Sources
- Legal Aid Queensland — Car accidents (checked 19 October 2026)
- Motor Accident Insurance Commission — What to do after an accident (last updated 16 June 2026)
- Queensland Government StreetSmarts — Driving in Queensland
- Queensland Legislation — Transport Operations (Road Use Management—Road Rules) Regulation 2009, sections 177 and 178
- QLDTraffic (roadworks notices)
Featured image: an RACQ Roadside Assistance vehicle in Queensland, photographed in 2013 (photo: Kgbo / CC BY-SA 3.0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with the Queensland Government, the Queensland Police Service or the Motor Accident Insurance Commission. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules can change; check the official pages above.