City of Newcastle - Make a Claim

Make a Claim - CN Motor Vehicle

If your property or vehicle has been damaged by a City of Newcastle vehicle (including waste trucks), you can lodge a claim with us.

Last updated on: 12 January 2026

In this article

Make a Claim - City of Newcastle Motor Vehicle
How to make a claim
Important information and specific rules
Related articles
Raise a request
Next steps
Time frames

Make a Claim - City of Newcastle Motor Vehicle

You can make a claim for compensation if you believe that we are legally responsible for damage to your property.

How to make a claim

Please read all information before submitting your claim, incorrectly submitted forms will delay our ability to proceed with your claim.

Consider if you are eligible for compensation; you may wish to seek legal advice. We are not able to provide legal advice.
If you have insurance, you should contact your insurer first. If they believe we are at fault they will contact us.
Gather your evidence. You will need to substantiate the damage, loss, or injury that we are responsible for. Evidence might include quotes, photos, medical documents, reports, or witness statements.
Submit your claim online.

Important information and specific rules

Why we may not be responsible to pay compensation

We are complying with our statutory duties and responsibilities under relevant legislation the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002
You can't prove City of Newcastle was legally responsible for your loss
You haven't supplied enough evidence to substantiate your loss
The loss or damage was caused by an act of nature, such as a wind or storm which was beyond our control
The damage was caused by a tree shedding. This is considered a natural event, and beyond our control
The damage was caused by tree roots and we were not previously aware of the problem.
The incident occurred on a road we do not manage, such as arterial or private access road
The damage, loss or injury was caused by a contractor acting on behalf of us, e.g., roadworks, or park maintenance. These claims should be submitted directly to the contractor.
The incident was caused by infrastructure belonging to utility companies, such as Telstra, Optus, NBN, water, power or gas companies. These claims should be submitted directly to the relevant company.
The responsibility for maintenance of your property lies with the property owner. Private property owners are responsible for the maintenance of stormwater systems, gutters, downpipes, gully pits, and other parts of drainage systems.

Waste collection vehicles

We provide a range of waste management services, including general waste collection (red lid bins), green waste collection (green lid bins) and bulk waste collections.

Newcastle household recycling services (yellow lid bins) are managed by Cleanaway and transported to a separate facility for processing. If you have experienced loss, damage or injury due to a Cleanaway vehicle, contact Cleanaway directly on 4920 1455.

The legislation that applies to our responsibility for damage caused by waste collection vehicles is the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW) and Road Rules 2014 - NSW Legislation.

Make a Claim - Pothole Damage - if your claim involves damage caused by a pothole.
Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage - Public Liability - for personal injury or property damage.

Raise a request

Before you begin

Only use this form if the damage is allegedly caused by a City of Newcastle vehicle (including waste trucks).
If you have insurance, we recommend that you contact your insurer first. If you do not have insurance, you can still lodge a claim with City of Newcastle.
Gather your documents, these might include:
Photos
Any other relevant reports or documents
You need to be the owner of the vehicle to submit a claim for compensation. You can nominate someone to act on your behalf in the 'Authority for an agent to act' section of the form.
Accepting your Claim form does not mean we accept liability for the Claim.

Submit a Claim

Next steps

Once you have submitted your claim:

You will receive an email acknowledging we have received your claim.
Motor vehicle claims may be managed by our insurer, Zurich Australia Insurance Limited. We will advise you if this is the case once your claim has been submitted.
Zurich Australia may need to contact you if they need more information.
Your claim will be assessed on a Without Prejudice basis. We will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to establish our legal responsibility in this matter.
You will be advised the outcome of your claim in writing.

Time frames

The time it takes to review a claim can vary dependent on the complexity, information required and time for repairs to be processed.
Through our insurer we will endeavour to complete our claims assessments as quickly as possible, however it can take up to 6 weeks to finalise.
If you are following up on your claim, where these are managed by Zurich, please contact them in the first instance referencing your claim number on 1800 611 372.

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Make a Claim - CN Motor Vehicle

Make a Claim - CN Motor Vehicle

Make a Claim - City of Newcastle Motor Vehicle

How to make a claim

Important information and specific rules

Why we may not be responsible to pay compensation

Waste collection vehicles

Related articles

Raise a request

Before you begin

Next steps

Time frames