Regulatory & Government
Cyclone pool claims top $1.6b
12 October 2026
The cyclone pool has received 133,078 claims to date with a total net incurred value of about $1.65 billion, the latest statistics report says...
Hazards Commission backs uni research into quake fires, landslips
12 October 2026
New Zealand’s Natural Hazards Commission is investing $NZ3.6 million ($2.89 million) in research examining earthquake fires, flood risk, coastal cliff collapse and other threats...
Call for submissions as state eyes impairment rating reform
12 October 2026
The NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority has called for feedback on whether the workers’ compensation scheme’s psychiatric impairment rating scale is fit for purpose...
Data protection agency probes smart glasses app maker
12 October 2026
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has launched an inquiry into a Chinese smart glasses app maker after it failed to respond to questions about its safeguarding of personal data...
NZ add-on insurers ‘operate with integrity’
12 October 2026
New Zealand Labour’s plans for targeting add-on insurance need evidence and careful consideration, with regulations already covering the sector, the Financial Services Federation says...
Hollard fined $2m after storm claimants ‘left in limbo for years’
09 October 2026
The Federal Court has fined Hollard $2 million over failures handling a home and contents claim made by a couple after a storm damaged their roof...
Canberra drops plan to slash disaster recovery funding
09 October 2026
The federal government has scrapped proposed changes to the Disaster Recovery Funding Framework after a campaign by Queensland councils and politicians...
Industry questions Treasury calculations on compo scheme levy
09 October 2026
Insurers have pressed for a rethink on their share of the $170.3 million special levy to cover a cost blowout in the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort, questioning the metrics used to decide contributions...
Employee safety watchdog launches fresh inspection blitz
09 October 2026
SafeWork NSW will make another round of workplace inspections to identify psychosocial hazards...
State backs key industries’ worker recovery programs
09 October 2026
Eight projects will share more than $3 million through the Return to Work Victoria innovation grants program...
Demolition group fined for safety failings after worker death
08 October 2026
A demolition recycling company has been fined $187,500 for breaching NSW workplace safety laws when a worker died in an excavator accident...
Fraudsters sentenced in SIRA crackdown
06 October 2026
A woman has been jailed and thousands of dollars recovered through court action as the State Insurance Regulatory Authority cracks down on fraud...
Albanese orders cyber review after OpenAI breach
05 October 2026
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has launched a “rapid review” to assess government cyber crisis response arrangements after an OpenAI agent gained unauthorised access to a Medicare statistics portal...
Industry makes case for contents insurance exemption
05 October 2026
The industry has made a renewed push for contents-only products to be exempt from the four-day pause rule under the deferred sales model for add-on insurance in a submission to Treasury...
NSW scheme implements ‘reasonable and necessary’ rule
05 October 2026
Another set of changes to the NSW workers’ compensation scheme has commenced as part of the government’s reform of work injury laws that started on July 1...
NZ Labour targets ‘junk’ add-on car insurance
05 October 2026
New Zealand’s Labour Party plans to ban "junk" add-on car insurance including paint and mechanical breakdown cover “that excludes almost everything that could break down”, if it wins the November election...
SIRA fines Woolworths for workers' comp breaches
05 October 2026
Woolworths has been issued a $50,000 civil penalty – the maximum possible – by the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority for breaches of its obligations as a self-insurer under the workers' compensation scheme...
Cyclone pool premium changes proposed
02 October 2026
Cyclone pool premium annual collections from insurers would increase to $770 million under draft rates proposed as part of the most comprehensive reassessment undertaken in four years...
Insurers applaud ASIC probe into paid claimant advocates
01 October 2026
Insurers have welcomed an Australian Securities and Investments Commission review into claims management firms after concerns were raised over the sector’s business practices...
ACT scheme encourages defect cover
28 September 2026
The ACT government says it wants to “incentivise” latent defect insurance take-up with the introduction of amendments to a property developer licensing scheme that starts next month...