On a transport accident claim? Check what you hold

A claim with the TAC and the insurance inside your superannuation (super) are separate things. One does not decide the other. They can run side by side.

Most people are never told this. If a transport accident has stopped you working, or changed the work you can do, your super may hold TPD cover or income protection cover. This page explains how the two fit together, and how to find out what you hold. It cannot tell you whether a claim would succeed. That depends on the policy.

This page is about Victoria only. The TAC is Victoria's scheme. Other states run their own motor accident schemes under their own rules, and this page does not cover them.

Two systems, two sets of rules

The TAC is the Victorian Government-owned organisation that pays for treatment and benefits for people injured in transport accidents. Its rules come from a Victorian law, the Transport Accident Act 1986, and the TAC applies them.

Insurance inside super works differently. It is a contract between your fund and an insurer. The test for a claim is written in the policy and in your fund's insurance guide. The insurer applies that test, not the TAC.

So, in plain terms:

• a TAC claim does not tell you whether your super holds cover
• a TAC decision does not decide a claim on super cover
• a TAC payment changing or ending does not decide it either

There is more on how the different systems connect in how the systems fit together.

What can sit inside super

Moneysmart, the Australian Government's money guidance service, says most super funds, other than self-managed funds, offer three types of insurance: life cover, TPD insurance and income protection (Moneysmart, Insurance through super).

Two of those matter most after an injury:

• TPD cover. Moneysmart says TPD insurance pays a lump sum if you become totally and permanently disabled because of illness or injury. It also says each insurer has its own definition of what that means (Moneysmart, TPD insurance). The wording of your policy is what counts.
• Income protection. Moneysmart says income protection usually replaces a percentage of your pre-tax income while you cannot work, for a set period the policy names (Moneysmart, Income protection insurance).

For more on each type, see insurance inside super explained and TPD cover in your super.

Why a transport accident is a reason to look

A serious transport accident can change working life in different ways. Some people cannot work for a long time. Some can work, but not in the job they had, or not for the same hours. Some go back to the work they did before. There is no expected path.

Whichever it is, the cover inside super is worth knowing about. It has its own test. That test is not the TAC's.

The TAC timetable is not the policy's test

The TAC scheme has dates built into it. TAC policy states that Loss of Earnings benefits, the first income support payment, are payable for a maximum of 18 months from the date of the accident. After that, a different payment with a different test may apply. We set out the full timetable, with the section numbers, on our TAC page.

Those dates belong to the TAC scheme. They do not appear in a TPD or income protection policy. When a TAC payment changes at 18 months, that is usually the scheme's timetable running, not a finding about you. Either way, it is not a decision about the cover inside your super.

When a TPD claim is assessed

Under many group policies inside super, a TPD claim is assessed once you have been unable to work for the policy's waiting period. That is often three consecutive months, and six in some funds. Your fund's insurance guide sets out the period that applies to you, and the definition the insurer uses.

So the TPD question can come up while a TAC claim is still running. You do not need to wait for the TAC claim to finish before asking your fund what you hold.

Age 25, $6,000, and the 16 month rule

Moneysmart says most super funds will automatically give you life cover and TPD insurance if you are aged 25 or over. Insurance does not start automatically if you are a new member under 25, or if your balance is under $6,000, unless you ask your fund for it. If you already have cover and your balance later falls below $6,000, Moneysmart says you usually keep it (Moneysmart, Insurance through super).

There is also a rule that can switch cover off. Moneysmart says that, by law, super funds cancel insurance on accounts with no contributions for at least 16 months. If work stopped after the accident, employer contributions may have stopped too. So the cover on your account today may not be the cover that was there on the day of the accident. Both are worth asking about.

These are rules about how funds generally behave. They are not statements about your account. Only your fund can tell you what yours holds.

Old accounts from past jobs

If you have worked for different employers, you may have more than one super account. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) says its online services in myGov show your active and lost super accounts, and any super the ATO holds for you (ATO, Keeping track of your super online). An older account may have carried its own cover.

Moneysmart says to check your insurance before changing super funds or closing an account. It notes that if you are over 60 or have a pre-existing medical condition, you may not be able to get the cover you want afterwards.

If the accident happened at work

Some transport accidents happen in the course of work. The TAC's claim information says:

If you were injured in the course of your employment, please consider submitting a WorkSafe claim before submitting a claim to the TAC.

TAC policy adds that, in most cases, a transport accident during the course of work is covered by workers compensation and not the TAC. Which scheme applies is a question for the TAC, WorkSafe Victoria or a specialist. The Victorian workers compensation timetable has its own page.

The cover inside super sits apart from both schemes.

How to find out what you hold

You can do all of this yourself. Asking a fund what cover you hold is a question, not a claim.

1. Log in to myGov and link the ATO to see every super account in your name.
2. Contact each fund, by phone, email or its member website. Moneysmart says your annual statement and product disclosure statement also show your cover.
3. Ask each fund the questions below, and ask for the answers in writing.
4. Write down your dates: the date of the accident, the date TAC payments started, and the date of any letter changing them.

Questions worth asking each fund:

• What insurance is attached to this account: TPD, income protection, or life cover?
• Is the cover active now? Has it ever stopped?
• What cover was attached on the date of my accident?
• What waiting period applies before a TPD claim is assessed?
• How does the income protection policy treat other payments for the same period, such as TAC payments?
• Can you send me the insurance guide and the policy wording that applied on that date?

"I'm not sure" is a fine answer to anything they ask you. Our step-by-step guide, what do I hold, goes through each part in more detail.

Where ClaimsGuide fits

The introduction we offer on this page is about one thing: the TPD and income protection cover inside your super. It is not about the TAC claim itself. Questions about the TAC claim are for the TAC.

ClaimsGuide does not run claims or assess anyone's entitlements. We explain how the system works, in plain English, and connect people with specialist firms when that would help.

If you want to talk through what your super might hold, get in touch and we can introduce you to a firm on our panel that handles claims on cover inside super.

Sources

• Moneysmart, Insurance through super, last updated 17 September 2026.
• Moneysmart, Total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance, last updated 26 October 2026.
• Moneysmart, Income protection insurance, last updated 17 September 2026.
• Transport Accident Commission, About the TAC.
• Transport Accident Commission, How to make a claim when a person is injured.
• Transport Accident Commission, WorkCover, transport accidents and accidents arising out of the use of vehicle claims.
• Transport Accident Commission, How long are Loss of Earnings (LOE) benefits payable for?
• Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic), in force versions.
• Australian Taxation Office, Keeping track of your super online.