City of Newcastle - Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage

Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage

If you've experienced personal injury, loss, or damage to property, you can submit a claim with us.

Last updated on: 12 January 2026

In this article

Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage
How to make a claim
Important information and specific rules
Related articles
Raise a request
Next steps
Time frames

Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage

You can make a claim for compensation if you believe that we are legally responsible for personal injury, loss or 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

Damaged footpath or road

The legislation that applies to our responsibility for injury or damage resulting from the use of local roads, including footpaths within the road reserve, is the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (the Act). There are several principles in the Act that determine whether a Council would be liable for compensation, including that we must have known about the risk and failed to act within our available resources to fix it.

Mowers and brushcutters

We are responsible for mowing and maintaining grounds such as walkways, parks, playgrounds, and sporting fields.

In some cases, accidents may occur where an object is thrown up from a mower or brushcutter and causes damage or injury. In these cases, you will need to prove that the damage was caused by a City of Newcastle team member or equipment. There are times when other companies, strata complexes or other organisations organise mowing and brushcutting works, in which case the claim should be submitted to the organisation responsible.

Trees

We look after over 70,000 trees on public streets, and hundreds of thousands within the Local Government Area. For information regarding our responsibilities relating to tree maintenance visit our Trees page online.

If we had no knowledge of a tree causing damage, we will not accept liability. You must show that we are legally responsible for any loss, damage or injury suffered.

Tree shedding and weather events are natural occurrences, and we will unlikely accept liability for claims relating to these. You might be able to claim through your own insurance for these events.

Depending on the circumstances of your claim, we may need more information, or there may be further action you will need to take afterwards. We will contact you if this is the case.

Claim related articles

Make a Claim - Pothole - If you have hit a pothole with your car and wish to make a claim against City of Newcastle for damages.
Make a Claim - City of Newcastle Vehicle - If you believe that a City of Newcastle vehicle has caused an accident or damage to property.

Ensuring safe walkways

Footpath, Drain, Kerb & Gutter Maintenance - For areas alongside the road that require maintenance.
Tree Removal or Pruning - To have a public tree inspected for maintenance.

Raise a request

Before you begin

The person lodging a claim with Council must be the property owner, not a Real Estate Agent managing the property. If the owner wants the Real Estate Agent to act on their behalf, they can complete the "Authority to Act" section of the claim form.
Consider whether you are eligible to submit a claim; you may wish to seek legal advice.
Accepting your claim does not mean we accept liability for the Claim.
We may accept your claim if you can prove City of Newcastle was negligent or at fault.
If we were unaware of the hazard (for example, damage to a footpath or road) we may not accept liability.
City of Newcastle works within the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002. The Act recognises that functions exercised by councils are limited by available resources.
Gather your documents, these might include:
Photos of the hazard
Any relevant reports or witness statements

Submit a Claim

Next steps

Once you have submitted your claim:

You will receive an email acknowledging we have received your claim.
Personal injury and property damage claims are managed by City of Newcastle's claims management service provider, JLT Risk Solutions. Your submission will be sent directly to JLT to independently assess and manage your claim.
JLT may need to contact you if we need more information, or advise of any additional action to be taken.
Your claim will be assessed by JLT on a Without Prejudice basis.
JLT will let you know the outcome of your claim in writing.

Time frames

The time it takes to assess a claim can vary due to the complexity and information you provide. Our claims provider (JLT) will generally advise receipt of your claim within 5 days and provide a claim number.
JLT endeavours to review claims as quickly as possible, however these matters can take time to obtain relevant information related to the claim.
We ask that claimants wait for at least 8 weeks before following up a matter with JLT. After this time, please contact them directly quoting any relevant claim number.

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Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage

Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage

Make a Claim - Injury or Property Damage

How to make a claim

Important information and specific rules

Why we may not be responsible to pay compensation

Damaged footpath or road

Mowers and brushcutters

Trees

Related articles

Claim related articles

Ensuring safe walkways

Raise a request

Before you begin

Next steps

Time frames