Reporting a Crash

All motor vehicle crashes causing personal or fatal injury must be reported to the Insurance Commission or the Western Australian Police.

The Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 places a legal obligation on the driver/owner of a WA licenced vehicle to report to the Insurance Commission a crash resulting in personal injury.

If you are involved in a crash, note down the following details:

• Date, time and location of the crash
• Licence plate details of all the vehicles involved
• Circumstances of the crash
• Names, addresses and contact telephone numbers of all people involved in the crash
• Names, addresses and contact telephone numbers of any witnesses.

Report the crash by telephoning us:

• (08) 9264 3344
• Freecall 1800 643 338 (Outside Perth)

If you are a driver or an owner of a Western Australian licensed motor vehicle involved in a crash resulting in personal injury to another party, it is important that you do not:

• Make any admission of liability
• Offer a promise of payment.

The reason you do not make an admission of liability is that there may be contributory negligence which the Insurance Commission needs to investigate.

Please refer any contact from the injured party or their lawyer in relation to any claim for personal injury to the Insurance Commission.

When you report the crash to us we will give you a reference number and we will also ask you to fill in a Crash Report Form, detailing the circumstances of the crash. To view or print the Form, you will need a copy of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader which may be downloaded from Adobe's web site. Click here to download the Crash Report Form.

In some cases, additional or more detailed enquiries into the circumstances of a crash may be necessary and in such instances, an investigator may be appointed. Situations that may warrant more detailed enquiries include:

• Crashes causing serious or fatal injuries
• Crashes that occur in remote locations
• Inconsistent reports or disputes between the parties involved on the circumstances of the crash
• Unusual circumstances
• Crashes involving a pedestrian, push cyclist, or child
• Unknown or unidentified vehicle (eg Hit & Run).

If Police attended the scene of the crash, or the crash was reported to the Police, the Western Australian Police will forward their Crash Report Form to our office.