4.7 Indemnity and insurance
In accordance with the requirements in Schedule 1, all organisations are required to indemnify the department against a claim by any person for loss of or damage to property, death or personal injury or other financial loss, caused by the negligence of or breach of statutory duty by the organisation.
A significant majority of organisations that enter into a departmental service agreement are covered under either of two insurance programs arranged and funded by the department:
- Public Healthcare Insurance Program
- Community Service Organisations Insurance Program.
The insurer for both of the programs is the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA) and details of the insurance cover provided, including the respective insurance manuals that it sends to the organisations, can be viewed on its website - www.vmia.vic.gov.au (external link)
Public health care insurance program
The types of public healthcare services covered include:
- health service networks
- public hospitals
- community health centres
- ambulance
- alcohol and drug treatment
- hospice care
- palliative care
- sexual assault centres
- bush nursing centres.
The insurance program does not cover private for profit medical services, such as private hospitals, day centres, medical clinics and the like.
Community service organisations insurance program
The types of community service organisations (CSO) covered for service provision in Victoria and agreed border locations include:
- kindergartens
- youth accommodation
- family support
- residential care
- child welfare
- Aboriginal cooperatives
- disability accommodation support
- neighbourhood/community houses
- community housing.
Although under machinery of government charges, organisations such as neighbourhood houses fall under the responsibility of other departments, the VMIA have maintained the cover for these programs. Such organisations may also still receive other funding streams from the department and be subject to a departmental service agreement and therefore covered.
The insurance program does not cover private for profit organisations, organisations which have an interstate based head office, or other organisations which can access the economic benefits of state based or national group insurance programs, which include:
- educational institutions
- local government organisations
- religious denominational bodies
- Salvation Army
- YMCA
- YWCA.
Organisations not covered by departmental insurance programs
It is prudent for organisations that are not eligible for cover under departmental insurance programs to arrange appropriate insurance to:
- protect physical assets such as buildings and contents against loss and/or damage
- indemnify the organisation against legal liability for personal injury and/or property damage or other financial loss claims under such policies as:
- public/products liability
- professional indemnity
- directors’ and officers’ liability.
Law requires WorkCover insurance if the organisation has any employees.
Consortia arrangements
Departmental insurance programs can be extended to cover all organisations that form part of a consortia funded by the department. The cover is strictly limited to consortia related activities only.
If at least one consortia member is an organisation covered under the public healthcare insurance program, then all other members will receive the benefit of the cover under this program. However, if the consortium doesn’t contain an organisation covered under the healthcare insurance program, but contains at least one member covered under the CSO insurance program, then all other members will be covered under this program.
Insurance enquiries
Organisations that are unsure of their eligibility for cover under departmental insurance arrangements should contact their PASA for advice. If the PASA is uncertain on insurance eligibility, then the matter should be referred by the PASA to the department’s insurance manager Lloyd Stuart (telephone 03 9096 8319).
Specific enquiries made by organisations on insurance matters should be referred to the VMIA. The VMIA website (external link) lists names and contact numbers specific to each departmental insurance program.