Disability allowances are available for loss of earnings and the inability to perform housekeeping duties. These allowances are called:

- Employed persons allowance;

- Self-employed persons allowance;  and

- Housekeeping allowance.

For a person to be eligible for a disability allowance, they must be certified wholly disabled as a result of the injury within 20 days beginning on the day of the accident:

- from engaging in their usual employment or occupation (employed or self-employed persons allowance),

- from carrying out ordinary household duties (housekeeping allowance).

 Disability allowances are not payable for:

- the period of seven days beginning on the day of the accident;

- any period whilst the injured person is outside the Commonwealth.

If a driver of a motor vehicle suffers personal injury and is convicted of driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood or more, or a similar offence, disability allowances may be reduced or, in some instances, may not be payable at all.

Employed and Self Employed Persons Allowance

Allowances may be payable to both employed and self employed persons at a rate of 80% of their average weekly earnings (AWE) during the 12 months prior to the accident.  (For claims for injuries occurring on or after 1 March 2010, 100% of AWE where AWE does not exceed $312.50). There is a cap on the weekly allowance payable, but it applies only to persons earning more than 3 times the adult average weekly earnings published prior to the accident.

Alternatively, self employed persons may claim 80% of the costs of employing a replacement to carry on their business.

An employed or self employed persons allowance may be paid for a period of up to 2 years from the date of injury if a person is unable to carry out their usual occupation. Under certain circumstances, a person may also be eligible to claim for periods falling within the following 3 years, up to a maximum period of 5 years from the motor accident date. 

Housekeeping Allowance

A housekeeping allowance may be payable where an injured person is unable to carry out household duties which are normally carried out by that person at least once per week.

The allowance may be paid for a period up to 26 weeks from the date of the accident and up to 39 weeks from the date of the accident where a person has been an inpatient at a hospital for a contiuous period of more than 4 days commencing on the date of the injury.

A maximum weekly amount applies to payments.

It is also worth noting, if an injured person employed the services of a housekeeper prior to the motor accident, only those duties/hours that are additional to those carried out prior to the motor accident may be reimbursed.