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Insurance for Public Events Understanding Liability:
Do you hold public liability insurance?
Yes / No
Do you know how much coverage it provides?
Yes / No
Are there conditions attached?
Yes / No
A good understanding of liability and insurance issues is essential for any event organiser.
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability Insurance (PLI) is likely to be required for your event. In the first instance, seek advice from the venue that you select to hold your event at as they will generally have conditions of hire/use that may require a basic level of PLI. The nature of your event may also require higher levels of insurance.
Venue managers maintain their own insurance but this only covers the Venue operator and will not normally extend to protect the liability of groups or organisers using the venue.
Some venue managers such as the A.C.T. Government require entities using or occupying the land or premises they control, to maintain adequate levels of public liability insurance for the proposed activities before approval will be granted.
Entities wishing to use Territory land or premises will be required to log on to the A.C.T Public Liability Insurance Risk Advisory Website and complete a risk profile for their activities. This will determine the required level of public liability insurance based upon objective standardised risk criteria.
The Insurance Risk Advice Website also offers free risk management guides and assistance.
Other Types of Insurance
Other types of insurances that you may be required to hold include:
Workers compensation - Refer to Office of Regulatory Services, WorkSafe ACT ;
Motor vehicle insurance;
Professional Indemnity;
Property insurance;
Product liability; and,
Volunteers;
If you are unsure on the types of insurance you require refer to the Australian Capital Territory Insurance Authority (ACTIA) website or phone 6207 0184.
Insurance Related Issues
Entertainers – you should ensure that performers have insurance to cover their activities while at your event. You should sight their insurance documentation.
Professional service or advice – you should ensure suppliers are licensed/accredited/registered etc and hold professional indemnity insurance.
Suppliers of goods they have made/manufactured/imported - you should ensure they hold product liability insurance.
Security services – you should use licensed security personnel that hold public liability insurance.
Event Insurance (or Cancellation Insurance) – If you are running an event to generate income you might consider insurance that will protect you against loss in case of cancellation. It is advisable to monitor weather forecasts in the lead-up to your event so you can plan for the predicted weather conditions. The Bureau of Meteorology can provide you with long and short-range forecasts.
For answers to some common questions about insurance refer to the “Frequently asked Questions” [FAQs] at the top of the A.C.T. Government Public Liability - Risk Advisory Service - Community Group Edition .
Where do you Wish to Hold Your Public Event The ACT Government manages all Public Land within the Territory, this land may include areas such as unleased Territory land, roads and road verges, foot and cycle paths, parks and nature reserves, forest sections and trails and public places such as town squares, malls and plazas.
The location of the event will determine which area within the Government provides final approval for the use of the land.
Licensing & Compliance within Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS), is generally responsible for the approval of events within parks, nature reserves, forest sections, public places and unleased Territory land.
The application form can be obtained from the Territory and Municipal Services website or by contacting Canberra Connect on 13 22 81.
For smaller events such as Weddings, Private functions or charitable collections, that are expected to have minimal impact on the surrounding environment or other activities in the area, the application should be lodged at least 3 weeks before you make any commitments.
For larger events such as Markets, Festivals, Rallies or large community group activities that may impact on the surrounding environment or other activities in the area, the application should be lodged in time for other agencies to provide feedback and for community consultation. This process may require a 6 month lead time.
Upon application, depending on the type of event, you will be requested to provide supporting documentation, which may include:
boundary map for simple events or detailed site plan for complex events;
evidence of insurance;
Risk Management Plan for more complex or more risky events;
an approved Temporary Traffic Management Plan (TTM) by Roads A.C.T.;
evidence of community support where the event may attract objections; or,
Waste Management Plan.
Use of Sportsgrounds and Facilities
Persons wishing to make use of A.C.T. sports grounds and facilities should refer to the Territory and Municipal Services Sportsground Booking and Information webpage on the Territory and Municipal Services Website or telephone 6207 5141.
Use or Closure of ACT Roads
This applies to any planned activity that is wholly or partly conducted on a road (or a road-related area such as car parks), requires special traffic management arrangements, and usually involves a large number of participants and / or spectators. This also includes events conducted within a venue such as sports, cultural and recreational events if the event disrupts normal traffic flow.
The Roads A.C.T. Special Events Officer arranges for the necessary approvals on behalf of the event organiser. Different approval levels are required for different special events and applications must be made 6 weeks (12 weeks in some cases) in advance of the event.
Further information and application forms are available from the Territory and Municipal Services Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) webpage.
Persons wishing to hold an event within National Capital Authority (NCA) Controlled Lands will need to refer to the National Capital Authority website. Information and application forms are available at National Capital Authority Events and Venues webpage or by calling 6271 2888. National Capital Controlled Land includes Parliamentary Triangle; Commonwealth and Kings Parks; Lake Burley Griffin (water and islands); Anzac Parade; Acton Peninsula and Yarramundi.
People wishing to hold an event at any of these venues are required to contact the Venues and Events area of the Economic Development Directorate. More information can be found on the Canberra Stadium and Manuka Oval websites.
Anyone seeking to book an event at Canberra Stadium, Manuka Oval or Stromlo Forest Park should phone 6256 6700 and for Canberra Business Event Centre phone 6207 7394.
Non-public venues include:
Commercial Venue (Hotel, Club, Sporting facility);
Australian Institute of Sport;
Universities;
Non-commercial organisation venues (Church, School, Charity organisation);
Leased shopping centres; and,
Private property (note that selling tickets is a strong indicator of a public event on private property).
Many public events not held on public land will be held in commercial venues that provide extensive requirements for the event organiser and have in-house risk management and planning processes and resources to assist in managing the event.
Event managers holding events on private property are advised to contact their insurer to ensure that the public liability insurance policy for the property provides insurance coverage in the circumstances of the proposed public event or else the event manager will need to arrange appropriate coverage.
Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC)
People wishing to hold an event at Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC) should phone 6241 3022 or email info@epic.act.gov.au . More information can be found on the EPIC website.
Documentation
Ensure accurate and detailed records are maintained, this includes in the lead up to, and during the event. Documents to consider include:
Event project plan and/or timeline;
Meeting schedules, agendas and minutes;
Filing systems (soft and hard copies);
Booking forms and applications (as required);
Budget (income and expenditure) records;
Contracts and agreements;
Key dates register;
Key contact list/register;
Event running sheets;
Event briefing notes;
Event Induction Manuals;
Volunteer Manuals;
Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plan;
Event Operational Plan;
Emergency Response Plan;
Traffic Management Plan;
Event site plans and maps; and
Minutes of Stakeholder Meetings.
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