Who is liable in a car accident, owner or driver in Australia?

Who is liable in a car accident, owner or driver in Australia depends on whether you mean liability for property damage or for personal injury, and the laws vary slightly by state. For property damage to cars and buildings, the driver who was at fault is primarily liable. If you were driving and caused an accident, you as driver are personally liable for damage to other people's cars and property, not the owner, unless the owner was also negligent, for example allowing an unlicensed or drunk driver to use their car. However, the owner's comprehensive or third party property insurance on the car will usually cover the driver's liability if the driver was using the car with permission, because Australian car insurance follows the car, not the driver. So the owner's insurer pays, but the owner may lose no-claim bonus. If the car has no optional insurance, the at-fault driver must pay personally and the owner can be pursued if they allowed uninsured use. For personal injury under Compulsory Third Party insurance, liability is broader. The CTP insurer of the at-fault vehicle is liable to pay compensation to injured third parties regardless of whether the at-fault person was owner or driver. The owner is responsible for ensuring the car has CTP, and if the car is unregistered and uninsured for CTP, both owner and driver can be held personally liable for millions in injury costs. In cases where driver cannot be identified, the Nominal Defendant scheme pays and recovers from owner and driver.