Care agencies face a unique combination of professional, clinical, public liability, employment, cyber and regulatory risks.

Whether your organisation provides nursing services, home care, disability support, community care or supplies care workers to other organisations, it is important that your insurance reflects exactly what your staff and contractors do.

Mercantile Insurance Brokers can arrange and review insurance programs for care agencies, nursing agencies, home care providers and disability support organisations throughout Australia.

We understand that a standard business insurance policy may not adequately address the professional and healthcare exposures involved in providing care to clients in their homes, community settings or other healthcare facilities.

What Insurance Does a Care Agency Need?

The insurance required will depend on the services provided, qualifications of staff, use of contractors, number of workers, locations, clients and whether workers provide nursing, personal care or other support services.

A care agency insurance program may include:

Insurance	What It Is Designed to Cover
Medical Malpractice / Professional Indemnity	Claims arising from professional, nursing, healthcare or care services
Public Liability	Third-party bodily injury or property damage claims arising from the business
Workers Compensation	Workplace injury cover required under the relevant State or Territory scheme
Management Liability / D&O	Certain claims involving directors, officers, management and the organisation
Cyber Insurance	Cyber attacks, privacy breaches, ransomware, data loss and related business interruption
Property Insurance	Office contents, equipment and other insured property
Motor Insurance	Vehicles owned or operated by the organisation
Personal Accident	Cover for certain categories of workers where appropriate

The appropriate combination of policies will depend on the activities of the individual organisation.

Medical Malpractice Insurance for Care Agencies

Medical Malpractice or Professional Indemnity insurance is an important consideration where an organisation provides nursing, clinical, healthcare or professional care services.

Claims can potentially arise from allegations involving:

• nursing care;
• medication administration;
• medication management;
• failure to monitor a client’s condition;
• failure to recognise deterioration;
• failure to escalate a medical concern;
• wound care;
• infection management;
• falls and mobility assistance;
• manual handling and transfers;
• personal care;
• clinical documentation;
• care plans; and
• other professional healthcare services.

The policy should accurately describe the services being provided.

A policy covering an organisation for basic domestic assistance, for example, should not automatically be assumed to cover nursing or higher-risk clinical services.

Entity Medical Malpractice Cover

Individual nurses and healthcare practitioners may hold their own Professional Indemnity or Medical Indemnity insurance.

That does not necessarily remove the exposure of the care agency or employing organisation.

A claim may be made against the organisation because of allegations involving:

• the actions of an employee;
• vicarious liability;
• failures in organisational procedures;
• inadequate supervision;
• inappropriate allocation of duties;
• failures in clinical governance; or
• services delivered by people acting on behalf of the organisation.

For this reason, care agencies should consider insurance protecting the business entity itself, rather than relying solely on insurance held by individual healthcare practitioners.

Nursing Agency Insurance

Nursing agencies can create additional insurance considerations because nurses may perform their duties at hospitals, aged care facilities, medical centres, private homes or other third-party locations.

Insurance should reflect:

• the qualifications of nurses supplied;
• the type of nursing performed;
• whether workers are employees or contractors;
• where services are performed;
• whether the agency supervises the worker;
• contractual obligations assumed by the agency; and
• whether the agency is supplying labour or directly providing healthcare services.

The distinction between a labour hire arrangement and the direct provision of nursing services can be important when arranging insurance.

Home Care Insurance

Home care providers deliver services in an environment they do not control — the client’s home.

Activities can range from relatively low-risk domestic assistance through to personal care, medication assistance and nursing services.

Services may include:

• personal care;
• showering and dressing assistance;
• domestic assistance;
• meal preparation;
• transport and community access;
• mobility assistance;
• medication assistance;
• nursing;
• wound care;
• continence assistance; and
• general in-home support.

Insurers need to understand exactly which of these services are provided.

The greater the level of clinical or personal care being delivered, the more important it becomes to ensure the Professional Indemnity or Medical Malpractice policy correctly reflects those activities.

Disability Support Provider Insurance

We can also assist organisations providing disability and community support services.

Depending on their activities, providers may require a combination of:

• Professional Indemnity;
• Medical Malpractice;
• Public Liability;
• Workers Compensation;
• Management Liability;
• Cyber Insurance; and
• Motor Insurance.

For registered NDIS providers, insurance should also be considered alongside the organisation’s obligations under the applicable NDIS Practice Standards.

The correct insurance structure depends on the registration groups, supports and services provided and whether the organisation undertakes higher-risk or clinical activities.

Public Liability Insurance for Care Agencies

Public Liability insurance is designed to respond to certain claims for third-party bodily injury or property damage arising from the business, subject to the policy terms and exclusions.

For a home care agency, examples might include accidental damage to a client’s property or an injury arising from a non-professional aspect of the business.

However, Public Liability and Medical Malpractice insurance are not interchangeable.

If an allegation arises from nursing, clinical care or another professional service, a Public Liability policy may contain a professional-services exclusion.

The interaction between the Public Liability and Medical Malpractice/Professional Indemnity policies should therefore be reviewed carefully.

Employees, Contractors and Labour Hire Workers

Care organisations commonly operate with a mixture of:

• permanent employees;
• casual employees;
• nurses;
• support workers;
• contractors;
• agency workers; and
• other healthcare practitioners.

This creates an important insurance issue.

A worker should not automatically be assumed to be covered simply because they perform services for the organisation.

We can review policy definitions relating to:

• employees;
• contractors;
• subcontractors;
• insured persons;
• healthcare professionals; and
• labour hire arrangements.

We also consider whether the organisation may have vicarious liability for the actions of workers delivering services on its behalf.

Contractual Liability and Care Service Agreements

Care agencies and nursing agencies may enter contracts with hospitals, aged care providers, healthcare organisations, NDIS participants, other care providers and commercial clients.

These contracts can contain:

• indemnities;
• insurance requirements;
• minimum liability limits;
• obligations to insure other parties;
• hold-harmless provisions; and
• responsibility for acts of employees or contractors.

An insurance policy does not necessarily cover every liability assumed under a contract.

Where significant contractual obligations exist, these should be considered when arranging or reviewing the insurance program.

Workers Compensation for Care Agencies

Care work can create significant workplace injury exposures.

Workers may undertake:

• client transfers;
• manual handling;
• mobility assistance;
• driving;
• repetitive activities;
• work in unfamiliar homes;
• community-based activities; and
• nursing or personal care duties.

Workers Compensation insurance requirements are governed by the applicable State or Territory scheme.

For agencies operating across multiple Australian jurisdictions, the location of workers and the nature of their employment should be considered when determining Workers Compensation requirements.

Cyber Insurance and Privacy Risks

Care agencies may hold substantial amounts of sensitive client and employee information.

This can include:

• health information;
• care plans;
• medical information;
• contact details;
• employee records;
• payroll information;
• financial information; and
• identification documents.

Care organisations may also rely on cloud-based rostering, client-management, payroll and healthcare systems.

Cyber Insurance can potentially provide protection for events such as:

• ransomware;
• cyber attacks;
• privacy breaches;
• unauthorised access to information;
• data restoration;
• cyber incident response;
• forensic investigation;
• notification costs; and
• business interruption following an insured cyber event.

Cyber cover should be considered separately rather than assuming these exposures are adequately covered under a general business insurance policy.

Management Liability for Care Agencies

Directors and management of care organisations may face claims or investigations arising from the operation and management of the organisation.

Depending on the policy, Management Liability may include cover for:

• directors and officers liability;
• employment practices liability;
• certain regulatory investigations;
• defence costs; and
• certain statutory liability exposures.

For larger healthcare or care organisations, a standalone Directors & Officers Liability policy may be more appropriate.

Support at Home Providers

Australia’s Support at Home program commenced on 1 November 2025, replacing the former Home Care Packages and Short-Term Restorative Care programs.

Registered Support at Home providers operate within the regulatory framework established under the Aged Care Act 2024 and must meet requirements relevant to the services and registration categories in which they operate.

For these organisations, the insurance program should reflect the actual services delivered, including whether the provider undertakes:

• care management;
• personal care;
• nursing;
• allied health;
• restorative care;
• transport;
• domestic assistance; or
• other home and community services.

Insurance does not replace an organisation’s regulatory responsibilities, but it is an important component of its overall risk-management framework.

Claims-Made Insurance and Continuity of Cover

Professional Indemnity, Medical Malpractice and Management Liability insurance are commonly written on a claims-made basis.

When changing insurers, consideration should be given to:

• retroactive dates;
• previous claims;
• previously notified circumstances;
• known incidents;
• continuity provisions; and
• notification requirements.

Moving to a cheaper policy without considering continuity of cover can potentially create gaps.

Why Use a Specialist Insurance Broker?

Care agency insurance is not simply a matter of comparing premiums.

Mercantile Insurance Brokers can review:

Your Services
We establish exactly what care, nursing and support services you provide.

Your Workforce
We consider employees, contractors, nurses, support workers and labour hire arrangements.

Your Professional Exposure
We assess whether Professional Indemnity, Medical Malpractice or a combination of covers is appropriate.

Your Liability Cover
We review the interaction between Public Liability and professional-services exclusions.

Your Contracts
We consider material insurance and indemnity obligations contained in contracts.

Your Management Risks
We consider exposures affecting the organisation, directors and management.

Your Cyber Exposure
We assess the sensitive information held by the organisation and its reliance on technology.

Our objective is to arrange insurance that reflects what the organisation actually does rather than relying on a generic description such as “care provider”.

Insurance for Care Agencies Across Australia

Mercantile Insurance Brokers can assist:

• nursing agencies;
• home care providers;
• disability support providers;
• NDIS providers;
• community care organisations;
• personal care providers;
• in-home nursing providers;
• healthcare staffing agencies; and
• care and support labour hire businesses.

We can review an existing insurance program or approach insurers for alternative terms. Where the agency or care organisation itself has exposure arising from the delivery of care, Entity Medical Malpractice Insurance should also be considered.

Request an Insurance Review if you would like us to assess your current policies, limits and exclusions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What insurance does a care agency need?

Depending on its operations, a care agency may require Professional Indemnity or Medical Malpractice, Public Liability, Workers Compensation, Management Liability, Cyber Insurance, Motor and other business insurance.

Does a nursing agency need Medical Malpractice insurance?

Where an agency provides or supplies nursing or clinical services, the organisation should consider its exposure to claims arising from those services. The appropriate Medical Malpractice or Professional Indemnity cover depends on the services performed and how the workforce is structured.

Are contractors covered under a care agency’s insurance?

Not automatically. The treatment of contractors varies between policies. Definitions of employees, contractors, subcontractors and insured persons should be checked carefully.

Does Public Liability cover mistakes made when providing care?

Not necessarily. Claims arising from professional, nursing or healthcare services may fall within a Professional Indemnity or Medical Malpractice policy rather than Public Liability. The policy wordings need to be considered together.

Do home care providers need Cyber Insurance?

Home care providers can hold significant amounts of sensitive health, personal and employee information. Cyber Insurance can therefore be an important part of the organisation’s insurance program.

Do NDIS providers need insurance?

Insurance requirements depend on the provider and services being delivered. The NDIS Practice Standards require appropriate insurance for relevant registered providers, including consideration of Professional Indemnity, Public Liability and accident insurance. Other covers may also be appropriate depending on the organisation’s activities.

Request a Care Agency Insurance Review

If you operate a nursing agency, home care business, disability support provider or other care organisation, contact Mercantile Insurance Brokers to discuss your insurance requirements.

We can review your existing policies or approach the insurance market for alternative terms.

Phone: 1300 310 467

Mercantile Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd