Who regulates home and car insurance in Australia?
This page gives general information. It is not legal or financial product advice and does not take your circumstances into account.
Short answer
APRA supervises insurers so that they can meet their obligations to customers. ASIC regulates financial services, including how insurance claims are handled. AFCA handles complaints about insurers for free. Insurers set home and car insurance premiums. Every state and territory requires compulsory third party (CTP) insurance and runs its own scheme.
The main bodies
| Body | What it does |
|---|---|
| Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) | Australia’s financial system prudential regulator (ASIC 2026d). It supervises banks, insurers and a large part of the superannuation industry. Its primary mandate is to make sure these institutions, including general, life and private health insurers, have enough financial means to meet their obligations to customers (APRA 2026b). Its standards for insurers cover areas such as capital and risk management (APRA 2023, 2019). |
| Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | Australia’s financial markets conduct regulator (ASIC 2026d). It regulates corporations, markets, financial services and consumer credit (ASIC 2026c). For insurance, its work includes licensing and claims handling, misleading conduct, unfair contract terms, product design and distribution, and the accuracy of what insurers tell customers about pricing (ASIC 2025, 2026a, 2026b, 2021b; Kirkland 2025). |
| Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) | Enforces the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and other laws that promote competition and fair trading (ACCC 2026a). At the government’s request, it ran an inquiry into insurance in northern Australia from 2017 to 2020 (ACCC 2020). It then monitored insurance prices, costs and profits around the cyclone reinsurance pool, reporting from 2022 to June 2026 (ACCC 2026b). |
| Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) | Hears complaints about insurance and other financial services, free of charge. It is an independent dispute resolution scheme (Moneysmart 2026). |
| Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) | A public financial corporation set up under the Terrorism and Cyclone Insurance Act 2003. It runs the cyclone reinsurance pool, which provides reinsurance for cyclone and cyclone-related flood damage to homes, small businesses and strata properties (ARPC 2026). It is not a regulator. |
| State and territory CTP bodies | Each state and territory runs its own CTP scheme. Some license and supervise private CTP insurers, such as the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) in NSW (SIRA 2026a) and the Motor Accident Insurance Commission in Queensland (MAIC 2026a). Others provide CTP through a government-owned body, such as the Transport Accident Commission in Victoria (TAC 2026a). |
The main laws
Insurance Act 1973. APRA’s prudential standards for general insurers are made under this Act. One example is the capital adequacy standard, which requires general insurers to hold adequate capital against the risks of their activities (APRA 2023). The Act also sets up the Financial Claims Scheme for policyholders of general insurers that fail (Commonwealth of Australia 1973). See If something goes wrong below.
Insurance Contracts Act 1984. This Act governs insurance contracts. Section 13 states that a contract of insurance is based on the utmost good faith, a duty owed by both the insurer and the customer (Commonwealth of Australia 1984a). Under section 20B, a customer buying consumer insurance has a duty to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer before the contract is entered into. Section 35 and the Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 set a standard level of cover for some types of policy, including motor vehicle, home building and home contents insurance. An insurer can offer less than the standard cover only if it clearly informs the customer in writing before the contract is entered into (Commonwealth of Australia 1984b, 2017).
Corporations Act 2001. A business that provides financial services in Australia generally needs an Australian financial services (AFS) licence. Since 1 January 2022, insurers have needed a licence to handle and settle insurance claims, unless an exemption applies (ASIC 2025). Since 5 October 2021, the design and distribution obligations have required firms to design financial products to meet the needs of consumers. From the same date, add-on insurance has been subject to a deferred sales model, with a four-day pause between the sale of a main product and the sale of add-on insurance (ASIC 2021b).
ASIC Act 2001. The ASIC Act and the Corporations Act prohibit false or misleading statements and misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to financial products and services, including insurance (ASIC 2026a). The ASIC Act also contains the unfair contract terms protections (ASIC 2026b). They apply to consumer and small business insurance contracts entered into or renewed from 5 April 2021 (ASIC 2021a). A term found to be unfair is void, which means it is not binding (ASIC 2026b).
Terrorism and Cyclone Insurance Act 2003. The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation is set up under this Act and runs the cyclone reinsurance pool (ARPC 2026).
CTP laws. CTP insurance is compulsory in every state and territory and is required to register a vehicle (SIRA 2026a). Each state and territory runs its own scheme under its own law. For example:
- In NSW, insurers licensed by SIRA provide CTP under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (SIRA 2026a).
- In Queensland, the Motor Accident Insurance Commission licenses and supervises CTP insurers. It was set up under the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (MAIC 2026a).
- In Victoria, the Transport Accident Commission, which is owned by the Victorian Government, pays for treatment and benefits for people injured in transport accidents (TAC 2026a).
How CTP premiums are set is covered under Who sets premiums.
Industry code
The Insurance Council of Australia’s General Insurance Code of Practice is an industry code. The current Code was last updated in October 2023 (Insurance Council of Australia 2026a). In October 2026 the Insurance Council submitted a revised Code to ASIC for approval. Under the revised Code, the Code’s obligations would become part of consumer insurance contracts, so customers could enforce them directly. A transition period is expected before it takes effect on new and renewed policies (Insurance Council of Australia 2026b).
If something goes wrong
Complaints. Contact the insurer first. If that does not fix the problem, make a formal written complaint to the insurer. If the insurer does not resolve it, or does not respond within a reasonable time, you can complain to AFCA (Moneysmart 2026).
If an insurer fails. The Australian Government can activate the Financial Claims Scheme if a general insurer fails. APRA then assesses each claim and decides the amount payable. Most policyholders are covered for valid claims under $5,000. Individuals who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, and Australian small businesses, not-for-profits and family trusts, are also covered for valid claims of $5,000 and above. The scheme does not apply to life or private health insurers (APRA 2026a).
Last reviewed 5 November 2026.