A review of Queensland's CTP scheme as announced by the Queensland Government today is welcome, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
"Queensland's CTP scheme is stable, affordable, and well run, and continual improvement has been one of the vital factors in the success of the scheme. It delivers fair compensation to road trauma victims, most of whom are represented by ALA members," said Sarah Grace, Queensland President, Australian Lawyers Alliance.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance is a membership organisation of lawyers who act for individuals who have suffered injuries, including those who have been injured on our roads.
"We support competition in the CTP scheme to keep the Queensland scheme operating as the best scheme in Australia, with at least as many insurers as there are now, and premiums remaining affordable," said Ms Grace.
The ALA is unable to comment specifically on the premium equalisation proposal.
"The premium equalisation proposal, and any other potential options, need to be carefully considered by the government to ensure our CTP scheme remains strong, works for the benefit of injured people and competition is fostered," said Ms Grace.
"We expect that during the review process there will be calls from some insurers to make fundamental changes to our scheme, by stripping rights off injured motorists. We've seen calls for rights to be stripped in the past, motivated purely by insurers looking to increase their profitability. Queenslanders take the protection of their legal rights seriously and are prepared to fight to protect those rights.
"We see the devastating impact every day of Queenslanders injured in motor vehicle accidents usually through no fault of their own. The centre of this scheme must be about delivering fair and reasonable outcomes for injured people. The current scheme does this, and any change sought by insurers must not remove those rights and protections."
