Section 96 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 (Vic) provided for liability of the Transport Accident Commission in respect of transport accidents involving unidentified or unindemnified vehicles. Section 96(2) provided that damages could only be recovered if (a) the claimant, within a reasonable time after they knew that the vehicle was an unidentified vehicle, gave the Commission notice in writing of intention to make the claim, setting out various details; or (b) the claimant satisfied the court that the Commission had not been materially prejudiced in its defence to the proceedings by failure to give notice at the proper time or by any omission or insufficiency or defect in the notice. Section 96(8) provided that ‘unidentified vehicle means a vehicle the identity of which cannot be established as at the date of an accident, and which remains unidentified at least until the commencement of proceedings’.