Explain a late claim under the Victorian one-year rule
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the accident date, the date any injury first manifested, the claimant's age and the reason for the delay, draft an explanation aimed at the reasonable grounds in section 68. Leave any part the client must sign blank. Do not say the Commission has accepted the claim.
- What the lawyer must review
- Check the explanation against section 68, not only the claim policy
- Confirm the age and whether a claim was already made
- Leave any part the client must sign blank
- Health records stay in the firm tool. ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply, and a breach may be notifiable.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victoria. Transport Accident Act 1986, section 68.
Produce. A dated account of the delay, with any part the client must sign left blank.
Have ready. Accident date and any manifestation date; Age at the accident; Reason for the delay; Whether a claim was already made.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The claim is 14 months after the accident. The draft sets out the reason for the delay for the lawyer to assess as reasonable grounds. It does not say the Commission has accepted the claim.
Stop and hand it back when
- The accident date, the age or the reason for the delay is missing.
- The draft would tell the client the claim is in time.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the accident date, the date any injury first manifested, the claimant's age and the reason for the delay, draft an explanation aimed at the reasonable grounds in section 68. Leave any part the client must sign blank. Do not say the Commission has accepted the claim. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- A claim under Part 3 is made within one year after the accident or death, or, if no injury manifested at the time, after the injury first manifests.
- The Commission may accept a later claim before three years after the accident, death or first manifestation, if it considers there are reasonable grounds for the delay.
- Section 68(3) applies where the injured person, or a dependent child of a person who died, was under 18 at the accident and no claim has been made. That person may claim before age 21 or within 3 years after the accident, whichever is later. The subsection is subject to subsection (2).
- The claim policy says a person under 18 whose parent or guardian did not claim in time may claim until the day before age 21. Do not replace section 68(3) with that sentence.
Sources
- Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic), section 68 · 2026-10-23
- Transport Accident Commission: Making a claim for compensation · 2026-10-23
The opened claim policy does not set out a separate form of excuse. The explanation addresses the reasonable grounds in section 68(2).