Duties of a Driver after an Accident

The driver of every vehicle involved in an accident must:

For example, if you have a minor crash where is less than $1000 damage, no-one is injured and both drivers provide their details, then there is no obligation to report it to police. When assessing the damage that has been caused, this includes damage to other property (such as a fence) as well as the car(s) involved. If the only damage is to the driver's car, then there is no requirement that the accident be reported. However, it is advisable to report an accident even when it may not be necessary.

You do need to be cautious about what you say to the police about the accident, as your statement can be used to determine if you have committed a traffic or other criminal offence. See Answering Questions about what questions you must answer and Arrest and Questioning for further information.

Elements of the offence & penalty

Failure to comply with these duties is an offence and the penalty is a fine of up to $2500. [Australian Road Rules 1999 s287 & Road Traffic (Road Rules – Ancillary and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1999 Reg 50]

If someone is killed or injured then the driver of every vehicle involved in an accident must also:

Elements of the offence & penalty

Failure to comply with these duties is an offence and the penalty is imprisonment of up to five years and license disqualification for at least one year. [Road Traffic Act 1961 s43]

Defences

It is a defence to this charge if the driver was reasonably unaware that the accident had occurred. It is also a defence if the driver genuinely and reasonably believed that to comply would endanger them physically and they notified the police, ambulance or another authority at the earliest opportunity.

In relation to failure to comply with the duty to present to a police officer, it is a defence if the driver has a reasonable excuse for failing to comply and they still presented themselves as soon as possible after the accident.

Failure to comply with duties where the accident involved injury or death

Elements of the offence

It is an offence to fail to comply with your duties as a driver involved in an accident (under the Road Traffic Act 1961 s43) where another person has been killed or injured as a result of driving without due care or attention. [Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 s19AB]

Penalty - fatal accidents

Where the accident has resulted in death, the penalty for the first offence is imprisonment of up to 15 years and licence disqualification for at least 10 years. Subsequent offences carry a penalty of up to life imprisonment and licence disqualification of at least 10 years.

Penalty - non-fatal accidents

Where the accident has resulted in serious harm, the penalty for a first offence is imprisonment of up to 15 years and a licence disqualification of at least 10 years. For subsequent offences the penalty is imprisonment up to life and licence disqualification for at least 10 years.

Where the accident has resulted in injury but is not serious harm, the penalty for a first offence is a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years and licence disqualification for at least one year. For subsequent offences the penalty is imprisonment up to seven years and licence disqualification for at least three years.

For a definition of what a subsequent offence is see s19AB(4) Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 and for serious harm see s21 Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935.