“Persistent advocacy” since the NSW Government proposed a NSW Practice Standard for Professional Engineers in 2021 has paid off, says Consult Australia’s Head of Policy and Government Relations, Kristy Eulenstein.
“Late last year we asked our members to write to the minister and articulate the impacts the proposed standard would have on their businesses. The NSW Government’s proposal included an untenable obligation that designs had to be fit for purpose that would make obtaining insurance even harder for our members,” Kristy says.
“In March the draft was released, and reflecting our advocacy efforts, the NSW Government included a much narrower definition and criteria for ‘fit for purpose’. This change reassured the insurance industry about the availability of professional indemnity insurance for engineers working in the NSW building sector.”
The NSW Government announced further consultation in August and delayed implementation of the standard until 2025. “We will be using this additional time to push our message and champion our members’ interests,” Kristy says.
Another source of good news is the additional capacity in the insurance market. Members are reporting improved conditions as they renew their professional indemnity insurance.
The latest BellRock market update revealed some softening in the market, Kristy notes.
“We have had positive market intelligence from members that there is more appetite from insurers in some engineering disciplines, and for project management. Unfortunately, the appetite among insurers doesn’t extend to high rise residential, Design & Construct projects or complex infrastructure.”
Kristy and her team have held more than 680 engagements with government representatives over the year to date, making more than a dozen submissions and participating in close to 100 member or government forums.
Consult Australia will continue advocate for government clients to reduce insurance limits and temper unreasonable obligations in contracts, Kristy adds. “A lot of our work is ‘long haul’ advocacy, but patience and persistence pay off.”