Your car's on the back of a truck, someone's waving a clipboard at you, and you have no idea who ends up paying for any of it. Short version: if the accident wasn't your fault, reasonable towing and storage costs are generally part of your claim against the at-fault driver's insurer, but the decisions you make at the roadside still matter.
Not at fault? Towing belongs on their bill
Towing is a direct, foreseeable cost of the crash, so it sits alongside repairs and a replacement vehicle in the losses a not-at-fault driver can recover. Keep the tow invoice and any storage receipts. They go into the claim with everything else.
How accident towing works in NSW
- Tow trucks at NSW crash scenes operate under a licensing scheme, and a driver must authorise the tow in writing before the car moves. Read the form before signing.
- For accident tows in the Sydney metropolitan area, maximum fees are regulated: a standard accident tow within the set distance has a capped price, with regulated extras beyond it.
- You generally choose where the car goes (your repairer, your home) unless police direct otherwise for safety or traffic reasons.
- Get an itemised invoice: vague "recovery fees" are where padding hides.
The holding-yard trap
The expensive mistake isn't the tow. It's where the car sits afterwards. Cars towed to a holding yard accrue storage fees by the day, and insurers push back on storage that runs longer than it needed to. Two rules of thumb:
- Send the car straight to the repairer whenever possible, not to a yard "for now".
- If it's already in a yard, get it moved within days, not weeks: every extra day is an argument you don't need.
Signing under pressure
Never sign a blank towing authorisation, and be wary of a tow operator pushing a specific "recommended" repairer: some yards and shops pay referral spotters. You choose the destination. If in doubt at the roadside, call us and we'll coordinate accident towing straight into our own repair facilities.
What if you were at fault, or no one else was involved?
Hit a pole with no other car involved? Then recovery from another party isn't on the table. Your comprehensive policy is the fallback, and most include or offer towing after an accident. Check your PDS for the distance and destination limits before you authorise anything.
Roadside quick list
- 1 Photograph the car and scene before it's loaded.
- 2 Read the towing authorisation; fill in the destination yourself.
- 3 Direct the tow to your repairer (or ours), not a holding yard if avoidable.
- 4 Keep every invoice and receipt.
- 5 Not your fault? Check your eligibility before paying anyone: towing may be recoverable in full.
Quick answers
How much does an accident tow cost in Sydney?
Accident tows in the Sydney metro area are subject to regulated maximum fees: a capped base price for a standard tow within the scheme's distance, plus regulated extras (distance, salvage, after-hours). The exact figures are indexed and change over time, which is why an itemised invoice matters.
Can I choose which tow truck takes my car?
At the scene you can call your own licensed operator if the situation allows, and you always choose the destination on the authorisation unless police direct the tow. What you can't control is which trucks show up uninvited, which is why the authorisation form is your control point.
The police arranged the tow: do I still pay?
Police can direct a tow for safety or traffic reasons, but the cost still follows the same logic: not your fault means it forms part of your claim against the at-fault insurer. Keep the paperwork and note the event number.
About this guide: general information for NSW drivers, prepared by the Crash Assist team, not legal, financial or insurance advice. Accidents turn on their facts; for an answer specific to yours, get in touch, it costs nothing to ask.