Insurance Claims Against The Hills Shire Council

Before Council is obliged to pay compensation for any injury, loss or damage suffered, it must be established that this injury, loss or damage was caused as a result of Council's negligence. 

Council reserves its right to recover all or any costs that have been unnecessarily or unreasonably incurred by the Council in successfully defending insurance claims made against the Council.

The legislation that applies to Council’s responsibility for damages resulting from potholes or any other hazards on its roads is the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (the Act). The Act sets out a number of principles to be employed in determining whether is liable for injury, loss or damage suffered by road users. For example, section 45 of the Act provides non-feasance protection for roads authorities.

“A roads authority is not liable in proceedings for harm arising from a failure of the authority to carry out road work, or to consider carrying out road work, unless at the time of the alleged failure the authority had actual knowledge of the particular risk the materialisation of which resulted in the harm.”

The principles concerning Council's management of resources and responsibilities as a Roads Authority are set out under section 42 of the Act:

"The functions required to be exercised by the authority are limited by the financial and other resources that are reasonably available to the authority for the purpose of exercising those functions.

The function required to be exercised by the authority are to be determined by reference to the broad range of its activities and not merely by reference to the matter to which the proceedings relate.

If you are insured privately for the damage or injury sustained, such as motor vehicle insurance, you may wish to report the claim to them. If covered they will settle your loss and then pursue recovery against the Council on your behalf.  

Council recommends that you seek professional legal advice if you are unsure about whether you are able to claim for your loss or damage.

All local roads are managed and maintained by Council except for declared Main Roads, which are the direct responsibility of Transport for NSW (TfNSW).

Contact TfNSW Here

Main Roads:

• Castle Hill Road
• Old Northern Road
• Old Windsor Road
• Pennant Hills Road
• Showground Road (Council responsible for kerb and gutter adjacent to sealed shoulder from just east of Carrington Road to Cheriton Ave)
• Windsor Road
• Burns Road/Memorial Ave
• Wisemans Ferry Road
• Norwest Boulevarde

Each year Council allocates resources and targets for its road maintenance and conditions and fulfils its obligations to maintain the roads in accordance with those targets. Often these are reasonable time frames for responding to notifications and alerts by members of the community as to a road condition that may require Council attention.

This can sometimes mean that Council may not be able to respond immediately to a notification and Council, as a public authority, has protections under the NSW Civil Liability Act 2002 as to any potential claims that may arise in connection with its maintenance of roads (and other public places).

Accordingly, it would be an unreasonable community expectation to require Councils to proactively maintain and repair all roads in its LGA and/or respond immediately to any road notification.

Hence, we recommend that you seek professional legal advice before making a claim against Council for damages and/or injuries related to Council roads.

Please note, any advice you obtain is at your own expense. Council will not reimburse for the costs associated with any advice you have sought.

If you do wish to make a claim you may complete the Online Claims for Compensation Form below and include all relevant documentation. There is no guarantee that your claim will be approved and will be subject to the above-mentioned considerations.

Online Claims for Compensation Form

Before Council is obliged to pay compensation for any injury, loss or damage suffered, it must be established that this injury, loss or damage was caused as a result of Council's negligence. 

Council will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to establish whether or not Council has any legal liability.

Completion and acceptance of the claims for compensation form does not represent an admission of liability or a waiver of its rights on the part of Council. Council reserves its right to recover all or any costs that have been unnecessarily or unreasonably incurred by the Council in successfully defending insurance claims made against the Council.

Your claim will be subject to investigation and assessed on its own merits.

We will endeavour to respond to claims as quickly as possible. However the processing of claims is dependent on the supply of relevant information and, therefore, assessment of your claim may take some time to complete.

If you wish to make a claim against Council, there are 2 options:

1) Make a claim against your own insurance policy - for a Property or Motor Vehicle Claim

Your Insurer may consider seeking recovery against Council. Please note that this option may result in an initial upfront payment to your insurer for the applicable excess. In general, insurance companies will pursue Council for reimbursement where they consider Council to be liable. In such cases, the excess amount may be waived. You should discuss this with your insurer prior to lodging a claim with Council.

2) Make a claim directly to Council - for Personal Injury or a Property or Motor Vehicle Claim

If you are seeking compensation directly from Council for injury, loss or damage arising from an incident, please complete the ‘Claim for Compensation’ form below.

Completion and acceptance of the claim for compensation form does not represent an admission of liability or a waiver of its rights on the part of Council.

Submit a Claim for Compensation Form

Council will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to establish whether or not the Council has any legal liability.

Completion and acceptance of the claim for compensation form does not represent an admission of liability or a waiver of its rights on the part of Council. Council reserves its right to recover all or any costs that have been unnecessarily or unreasonably incurred by the Council in successfully defending insurance claims made against the Council.

Your claim will be subject to investigation and the findings assessed on their own merits.

Council will endeavour to respond to claims as quickly as possible. However the processing of claims is dependent on the supply of relevant information and, therefore, assessment of your claim may take some time to complete.