Hosting Work Experience and Placement Students
School, TAFE and uni placements bring a young person into your workplace for a week or a semester. Good for them, good for the industry - and worth ten minutes of insurance checking before day one.
School
TAFE & Uni Placements
4
Checks Before Day One
Host
Answers Its Own Claims
Recognition
THE SHORT ANSWER
Education systems generally maintain insurance arrangements for students on approved placements, and these vary by state and by institution. What those arrangements generally don't do is protect the host business - if a student is injured and a claim is made against you as the host, that claim is yours to answer. Your workers compensation generally won't respond because the student isn't your employee, and public liability wordings can exclude injury to people performing work for you.
This is general information, not a legal position - placement arrangements differ between school systems, TAFEs and universities, and between states. The practical move is the same everywhere: read the placement agreement, confirm what the provider's arrangements cover, and check your own wording before the student starts.
BEFORE THE PLACEMENT STARTS
What to Check Before Taking a Student On
Four checks, all doable in an afternoon, all cheaper than finding the answers after an injury.
The Placement Paperwork
School, TAFE and university placements generally come with a placement agreement. Read it: it usually sets out who arranges what insurance, what the student can and can't do, and what the host is signing up to.
What the Education Provider's Cover Does
Education systems generally maintain insurance arrangements for students on approved placements, and these vary by state and by institution. What they generally don't do is protect the host business against a claim made against it.
Your Own Wordings
Check your public liability policy for injury-to-workers exclusions, and check whether a placement student under your direction would be treated as a worker. If the wording is unclear, get it confirmed in writing before the placement starts.
Supervision and Restricted Tasks
A student on placement usually needs direct supervision, and some tasks - machinery, heights, vehicles, hazardous substances - may be off-limits under the placement terms. The practical controls matter as much as the insurance.
PLACEMENT CHECK
Taking on a placement student?
Tell us about the placement and what public liability you hold now. We'll check whether a student under your direction sits inside or outside your wording, and fix it if it's the wrong answer.
WHO COVERS WHAT
Where Each Piece of Cover Sits
A general map only - placement arrangements vary by state and institution, and cover is always subject to the policy terms, limits and exclusions.
| What's covered | Key exclusions and considerations |
|---|---|
| Student injury on an approved placement, under the education provider's arrangements | Arrangements vary by state and institution, and generally don't extend to protecting the host |
| Claims against the host alleging negligence, via host employer liability cover | Standard public liability wordings can exclude injury to people performing work for you |
| Damage the student causes to third parties, typically under the host's public liability | Confirm the student is within the definition of persons the policy covers while under your direction |
| Your own employees, under your workers compensation as normal | A placement student generally isn't your employee, so this policy generally isn't the one that responds for them |
| Legal defence costs for covered claims against the host | Tasks restricted by the placement agreement (machinery, heights, driving) can sit outside cover if breached |
Hosting apprentices as well as students? The same gap logic applies with a few extra moving parts - see our apprentice hosts page, or start at the host employer insurance hub.
WORK EXPERIENCE FAQS
Common Questions About Hosting Placement Students
RELATED COVER & GUIDES
More on Hosting Workers
Placement agreement in hand and not sure what it commits you to? Send it over and we'll check it against your cover.
Talk to Our Team →
Get Your Cover Checked Before the Placement
Ten minutes with the placement agreement and your policy schedule is usually all it takes. We'll tell you where you stand and quote anything that's missing.