How Much Does Public Liability Insurance Cost in Australia?

If you’re running a small or medium business in Australia, you’ve probably asked: How much is public liability insurance going to cost me? Or Is my renewal this year in line with the industry average?

It’s like asking how long a piece of string is. The short answer is: it depends.

(Boo! Boring right? But stick with me…)

This page will give you realistic ranges, explain what drives cost, and show you and other small business operators how (with a good broker like Bluewell) can keep premiums manageable plus consider tools like premium funding to assist small businesses from a cashflow point of view.

Typical Cost Ranges for SMEs

We get calls everyday, “can you give me a quote right now, just a ballpark.” We understand you want a quick insurance comparison, but there’s a bit more that goes on under the surface.

So for simplicity, here it is, after 16 years and tens of thousands of policies (and counting) it averages out to $1,260.32 per year….

But what does this figure actually mean?

Not much really.

Your first thought was likely “I am paying less/more than that” or, “these guys must be scammers / wizards”

Here’s an obvious flaw: A policy 16 years ago definitely costs different to today.

So what about something more current?

Average premium from 2022 to 2025 was $1,707.91

From 2019 to 2022 it was $1023.04

So if we zoom out and look at just a timeline, premiums generally increase over time across all industries and products, particularly post 2020.

As you can likely see, annual insurance premiums are up on average 70% compared to pre 2020 for public liability insurance.

But again, this doesn’t tell the full story. Yes, Bluewell has been operating since 2010, but our brand has grown, our clients have grown in size, and our ability to service larger organisations has improved over time.

So consider this as well: not all business sizes are the same. In ASBDEO report from 2024 they noted 97.2% of businesses are considered “small” with employees up to 19. With 24.7% of businesses earning less than $50,000 pa, and 34.6% of businesses earning between $200,000 and $2M pa. (ASBDEO, 2024)

Lets stick with our internal 2022-2025 for more recent figures.
Our internal data shows businesses that earn over $500k per year pay on average $5,251.81 for their public liability insurance. Whereas businesses that earn less than $100,000 pay on average $643.09.

Can you see how giving a ballpark estimate, might not be accurate at all?

Insurance companies in Australia consider many factors when pricing business insurance, and we will explore that further.

These numbers are indicative, your actual cost might be lower or higher depending on how risky your business appears to insurers, and these figures should not be considered as advice in any capacity. If you have questions about your situation, ask your broker or insurer.

What Influences the Premium (Underwriting Factors)?

Although it may feel like sometimes insurers just make up a number, or are overly greedy in their pricing. However, at the end of the day, they are a for-profit business. They evaluate a host of factors to decide how likely you are to make a claim, and the potential severity of a claim depending on your situation. Operating in an open market structure in Australia forces insurers to price competitively, or lose out on business to an alternative provider. It’s a fine balance between profitability, risk, and understanding their underwriting process and criteria. Underwriting is a mathematical process of identifying trends and probabilities across various industries, businesses, and situations to determine how much small business insurance will cost. Here’s what they look at (and what you can control):

Factor	Why It Matters	Tips to Improve
Industry / Business Type	A café or gym faces different risks than a consulting or office business. I wouldn’t expect you to get hit by a rogue weight at a lawyer’s office. In the same sense large scale civil infrastructure projects will attract greater premiums than a local plumber.	Explain your scope of work clearly. Insurers can’t read your mind. Provide detail on your operation.
Turnover / Size	More revenue often means more clients, more exposure, more chance of claims.	Report accurate turnover. Don’t understate (which can void cover) or overstate (which may inflate cost). It’s best practice to update as you go.
Level of Cover (Limit)	Higher liability limits (e.g. $10 million or $20 million) cost more.	Choose a limit that matches your contract obligations and risk profile.
Location / Work Site	Doing work in city centres, high foot traffic areas, or in multiple states increases risk exposure. But remote areas might not be discounted. It may take hours for medical help to arrive, potentially escalating a situation.	Tell insurers exactly where you operate. If you avoid high-risk zones, note that.
Claims History	Past claims makes things harder. They indicate repeated risk or may raise your profile as a “high risk” business.	You can’t avoid claims, but you can minimize their total cost, and frequency through strong risk management policies and procedures.
Nature of Work / Exposure	Activities that involve installation, heights, public interaction, or use of equipment increase risk.	Be precise about your trade, scope of services, what’s included and excluded.
Subcontractor Use	If you engage subcontractors, insurers may rate you higher since their actions can affect you.	Collect and hold Certificates of Currency (insurance) for subcontractors.
Risk Mitigation / Controls	If you have documented safety systems, inspections, training, and risk management, this can have flow on effects when a claim occurs.	Keep logs, update safety procedures, train staff and show it.

So those online “average cost” articles often fail to account for all these variables. That makes their “average” misleading for your specific trade. More on this below.

Premium Funding Helping to Spread the Cost

Paying a lump sum once a year for your business insurance can sting cash flow. Particularly for start ups, small businesses, large operators, or businesses wanting to invest their capital into other sectors of their business. Premium funding lets you split the annual cost into monthly instalments to better assist clients manage their cashflow and their business insurance. At the end of the day, the insurance premium needs to be paid. It is up to you to decide how you prefer to arrange this, but brokers often partner with Premium Funding finance companies to provide one solution.

Why use premium funding?

Keeps your cash flow smoother.
Lets you match payments to your revenue (e.g. ramping up in busy months).
Helps avoid skipping insurance due to cost pressure.

But note: funding comes with extra cost (interest and fees), and falling behind in payments can add to stress and financial impact. You need to weigh that against the benefit of preserving cash flow.

State Stamp Duty & NSW Exemption for Small Business

Many people forget that business insurance attracts stamp duty in most states in Australia. This is a tax added on top of your business insurance premium imposed by your state government. That means when you pay your public liability insurance, part of your cost is tax. This is on top of the standard Goods & Services Tax as well.

NSW has a benefit for small businesses.
From 1 January 2018, small businesses (with aggregated turnover under $2 million) can claim an insurance stamp duty exemption on certain covers, including public liability insurance, commercial motor insurance, and professional indemnity insurance. (Revenue NSW, 2025)

To claim it, you must:

Provide a small business declaration to your insurer before or at renewal.
Be eligible under the rules (turnover threshold and business status).
For policies taken or renewed after Jan 1, 2018.

If you’re eligible and declare correctly, your insurer won’t charge stamp duty on the policy saving you ~9% duty. (QBE, 2025)

Note: The exemption is valid for one financial year, so you’ll need to renew the declaration annually.

If a business in NSW fails to declare, it might end up paying duty they shouldn’t have. So always check schemes like this. If you fall into this category, it is best to speak with your accountant about what they may be able to do at tax time.

Other states may have different duty rules or none depending on the insurance type, its best to always verify with your broker, insurer, or accounting professional.

Why Many “Average Cost” Pages Are Misleading

You’ll see lots of websites claiming, “public liability insurance costs $X per month” or “the average is $500/year for small business insurance.” These claims often ignore the complexities behind underwriting. I hope the details above highlight some of the challenges in coming to an exact figure without going through the formal quoting process. Many fail to account for:

The specific trade or industry (some have higher risk).
The level of cover (some use $5 million, but contracts usually ask for more than this)
The work area or states involved (riskier locations get higher premiums).
Past claims or loss history.
Safety systems or lack thereof.
Subcontractor use.

If they just pick one “typical” scenario and generalise it, it comes across as misleading. Small business operators already have enough going on to be wasting time. There is no worse feeling than thinking you are going to pay one amount, and it turns out to be a totally different, and a more expensive amount. Two small businesses in the same trade can pay dramatically different premiums because of those factors above. So, when comparing quotes for public liability insurance across Australia, always ask your broker what assumptions they made, and what you’d pay if your profile changes.

This is why at Bluewell we usually avoid giving ballpark figures or quotes without discussing your situation. We want the cover to be right for you, and a mechanic can’t fix your car without looking under the hood. Why is insurance any different?

A few alternative guides put averages in other terms:

One source says small business owners may pay ~$63.53 per month (~$760/year) for basic cover. (HMD Insurance 2022) But they also say $50, and $30, and $100… well which one is it? And how did they get these figures?

I will also note that the entity type, your business legal structure, whether you are a sole trader or company or partnership, has no effect on the actual premium for small business insurance products. Although it can be a great risk management tool in its own right, best to speak to an accountant or legal professional about potential legal structures and their consequences.

Another quote says small business owners can expect ~$68.50/month (~$820/year) for public liability. (Public Liability Australia, 2025) It implies regardless of if you are a butcher, a baker, or a dressmaker this is the estimate. These are three completely independent occupations that have their own underwriting criteria. At least this website references where they got their figures from, but it’s noted from 2018…. Our internal data above shows a 70% increase in premium post 2020 compared to 2015-2020.

Sprintlaws guide on liability insurance costs for small businesses often pops up when searching for the cost of public liability insurance for small businesses in Australia, including when using a LLM to search for reputable sources. However, again the most glaring issue with their information is the lack of transparency in where they source their figures from. Are they internal figures? Taken from industry reports or government insights? Or are they simply just pulling a figure out of thin air?

What to Do Next

If you want a quote, click the links on our page to start the process, or give us a call to discuss your business insurance situation!

Gather your documents: turnover, type of trade, past claims history, any safety systems or accreditations you have.
Ask your broker (or us) for quotes and assumptions used.
Check if you’re in NSW and eligible for stamp duty exemption.
Consider premium funding to smooth out payments if needed.
Review your coverage limit, no point in paying for $5M if you need $20M.
Maintain safety systems and documentation; this helps when a claim occurs.

Why Work with Bluewell

Insurance can be confusing, time consuming, and frustrating. Bluewell aims to solve all these through our dedicated team of account managers and support staff. National Insurance Brokers Association, (NIBA, 2020) notes on average clients save11 hours organizing a policy. Consider how much you pay yourself hourly, and it’s likely cheaper to outsource this process to Bluewell so you can focus on growing your business.

If you’re ready to get a tailored quote or want to understand what your premium should be, reach out now. Let’s get your public liability sorted honestly, practically, and in a way that helps your business grow.