TOUR OPERATOR INSURANCE
The public liability figure, certificate wording and indemnity each park authority and council publishes, state by state, read from the authority's own page.
Premiums and outcomes described are specific to this client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.
THE SHORT ANSWER
How much public liability do I need for a national park tour licence?
As at October 2026, park authorities in Australia publish a public liability minimum of either $10 million or $20 million for a commercial tour licence or permit. NSW National Parks (Parks Eco Pass), WA and SA ask for $10 million. Parks Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, the NT, the ACT and Parks Australia at Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Kakadu and Booderee ask for $20 million. The figure is only part of it. Several authorities prescribe the words that must appear on your certificate of currency, and several licences in our table include an indemnity or a release. A $20 million public liability limit meets every public liability minimum listed here. Other conditions, such as the type of insurer, the prescribed wording, the indemnities, vessel insurance at Rottnest Island and Byron Shire's $5 million professional indemnity, have to be checked separately.
A certificate of currency is the document confirming your policy is in force, its limit, its period and who is insured. Councils and city authorities set their own figures, shown further down. General information only. It doesn't take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it isn't legal advice.
| Authority | Licence or permit | Public liability minimum | Wording and indemnity |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service | Parks Eco Pass | $10 million | Interested party text in prescribed words. Release and indemnity. |
| Parks Victoria | Tour Operator and Activity Provider Licence | $20 million any one claim | Seven-party interested party text in full. APRA-authorised insurer. |
| Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service | Commercial activity permit | $20 million any one event | Indemnity, release and discharge. Workers compensation. |
| Queensland marine parks | Marine park permit | $20 million any one event | Cover kept for the life of the permit. Workers compensation. |
| WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions | Commercial operations licence | $10 million per event | Signed Deed Poll (acknowledgement of indemnity) lodged with the certificate. |
| Rottnest Island Authority | Vessel entry terms | $10 million for vessels 6.4 m or longer, $5 million under 6.4 m | Operator indemnifies the Authority. |
| SA National Parks and Wildlife Service | Commercial Tour Operator Licence | $10 million any one claim | Policy endorsed with the Relevant Authority's and Minister's interest. Release and indemnity. |
| Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service | Nature Based Tourism business licence | $20 million | Evidence of cover before the contract issues. |
| Wellington Park Management Trust | Commercial Operator's Licence | $20 million | Uses the Parks and Wildlife Service application form. |
| NT Parks and Wildlife | Tour operator permit | At least $20 million | Workers compensation if you have staff. Subcontractor names and ABNs. |
| Parks Australia, Uluru-Kata Tjuta | Commercial tourism permit | $20 million | Guides must complete the park's Knowledge for Tour Guides course. |
| Parks Australia, Kakadu | Commercial land-based tour permit | Not less than $20 million any single event | An insurer of the kind the 2023 form calls APRA-licensed, or one the Director approves. Release and indemnity. |
| Parks Australia, Booderee | Commercial tour permit | $20 million | Insurance in place before the permit issues. |
| ACT Parks and City Services | Public land permit | $20 million for a business or commercial entity | Figure published on the City Services events page. |
The figure is the limit on your public liability cover.
The certificate must name the department as an interested party in these exact words: The Minister administering the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 on behalf of the State of NSW ABN 27 578 976 844. The licence conditions add that the insurer waives claims against the Licensor unless the Licensor was negligent, that cover can't lapse without a month's written notice, and that you release and indemnify the Licensor.
$20 million any one claim, and a lower certificate will not be accepted. The class must be Public and Products Liability, from a named APRA-authorised insurer, with every activity on your licence listed. The interested party text must appear in full: the Minister for Environment, the Secretary to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Parks Victoria, the Director of National Parks, the Minister for Ports, Melbourne Water Corporation, the Yarra Bend Park Trust and any other body delegating its powers to Parks Victoria.
$20 million arising from any one event, for both the commercial activity permit and a state marine park permit. An authorised representative signs a statement agreeing to the permit conditions, which include an insurance declaration and an indemnity, release and discharge.
Not less than $10 million per event, covering the areas and operations on the licence. A signed Deed Poll, an acknowledgement of indemnity, goes in with the certificate and requires you to tell your insurer about the licence and its conditions. Rottnest Island's figures are for the vessel itself. At least one specialist tour operator wording we place excludes boats over 8 metres used by you or on your behalf, whoever owns them, unless someone else owns and operates the vessel and it is used for business entertainment. Whether a paid cruise or a chartered boat qualifies is an open question, and insurers treat it differently, so raise any vessel with us before you bind.
$10 million any one claim on the 2026-27 application form, in the legal entity name, not the trading name. The licence terms require the policy to be endorsed with the Relevant Authority's and the Minister's interest, and contain a release and an indemnity.
Tasmania asks for evidence of $20 million before a contract issues, and Wellington Park asks the same. The NT permit needs a certificate of at least $20 million. In the ACT, all commercial or organised activities in parks and reserves need a public land permit, and a business needs at least $20 million.
Parks Australia sets $20 million at all three parks. Kakadu's 2023 form asks for a certificate before you start, at each renewal and on request, and your contractors must be covered by your policy or hold their own permit and policy. The tour operator policies we arrange can respond to your liability for a contractor's conduct, subject to their terms, but they do not insure the contractor, so in practice they need their own. NT Parks does not issue permits for Kakadu or Uluru-Kata Tjuta.
| Authority | What it covers | Public liability minimum | What else |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Melbourne | Permits for activity in municipal public space | $20 million for a single claim | City of Melbourne named as an interested party. APRA-authorised insurer, or one with a local claims agent bound by Australian law. Applicant named as insured. |
| Brisbane City Council | Commercial activity in a Council park | $20 million | Certificate of currency lodged with the application. |
| City of Gold Coast | Commercial activities in parks (guided tours are listed) | At least $20 million | CPR and first aid certificates, a risk management plan and a site plan. |
| Byron Shire Council | Class 2 sub-licence, coastal and riparian Crown reserves | $20 million, plus $5 million professional indemnity | Policy notes the Council and the Minister administering the Crown Lands Act. Walking tours are not a listed activity. |
| City of Hobart | Permit to occupy a public street | At least $10 million | Commercial activity in the City's parks needs separate approval. No figure is published for parks. |
| Placemaking NSW (The Rocks, Darling Harbour) | Event licence and venue hire | No less than $20 million | Place Management NSW noted as an interested party. We did not find a tour-specific licence. |
The City of Fremantle currently accepts applications to trade in public places from not-for-profit organisations only, and publishes no figure.
Check directly. We could not confirm a current figure from the authority's own page for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Phillip Island Nature Parks, the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, the City of Sydney, the City of Adelaide, the City of Perth, or land-based tour businesses on Rottnest Island. Ask each one what it requires before you apply.
Northern Territory. The Northern Land Council says entry to Aboriginal land requires a written permit. Tour operators apply for a work permit for tourism, issued to organisations that hold, or have applied for, a land use agreement with the Council. The Council also says the acceptance of insurance claims on Aboriginal land may rely on a valid permit. The Central Land Council requires a special purpose permit for tourism on Aboriginal land. Its Glen Helen to Papunya Road transit permit is for individuals, and commercial tour groups need an entry permit.
Western Australia. Entry permits are required for proclaimed Aboriginal Lands Trust reserves. Transit permits are short-term and are not issued for any commercial activity, including commercial tourism. The page doesn't say what a tour operator needs instead, so ask the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.
South Australia. APY states that transit permits are not issued to tourists or travellers wishing to pass through the APY Lands, and it lists no tourism permit category.
Around Uluru. Roads on Aboriginal land outside the national park need a Central Land Council permit, on top of the park's own commercial permit. More on who holds the insurance on Country is on our Indigenous cultural tour insurance page.
Quality Tourism Framework. The Australian Tourism Industry Council's accreditation standards require participating businesses to hold public liability of at least $10 million, with a certificate of currency. A business below that must explain why in writing.
ECO Certification and Respecting Our Culture. Both are administered by Ecotourism Australia. Respecting Our Culture is offered as a specialty program for operators that hold, or are applying for, ECO Certification.
What it changes. Parks Victoria offers licences of up to five or ten years to operators with recognised certification. WA requires accreditation for any licence of a year or longer, though a first-time applicant can take a one-year licence and supply the certificate within six months. SA ties its three and five year licences to certification. Tasmania requires accreditation within 12 months of the licence starting. A three-year permit at Uluru-Kata Tjuta needs accreditation under a recognised program. Accreditation also looks at your risk management.
| Request | What you're agreeing to | How it sits with the policies we arrange |
|---|---|---|
| Interested party | The authority's interest is recorded on your policy or certificate. | We send the authority's exact text to the underwriter. What rights the note gives depends on the wording. It is not the same as being an additional insured. |
| Indemnity | You promise to make good the authority's loss arising from your activities. | At your request, an indemnity to others extension, such as the one on a specialist wording we place, can reach a party your agreement requires you to indemnify, but only as far as you would have been liable anyway. Liability you take on purely by contract is excluded. |
| Release | You give up your right to claim against the authority. | Tour operator policies we arrange generally exclude a claim to the extent you waived recovery rights without the insurer's prior consent. Ask first. |
| Hold harmless | You promise not to pursue the authority and to carry the loss yourself. | Both limits above apply: your own liability is the ceiling, and consent comes before signing. |
Where a licence asks the insurer itself to waive claims, as the NSW conditions do, that is a request for the underwriter. Before you sign, have your lawyer review the licence, and send it to us so we can check how its clauses sit with your insurance, the same way you would a supplier or coach company contract. A release you sign for an authority is different from a waiver your guests sign for you.
Public liability limits up to $20 million are available, subject to the underwriter's assessment. The $20 million limit on a recent placement applies to any one occurrence, with products liability in the aggregate (on the schedule we hold; yours may differ). That limit is at or above every park and council public liability minimum on this page. It is one condition, not the whole answer. Rottnest's figures are insurance on the vessel itself, and at least one specialist wording we place excludes boats over 8 metres used by you or on your behalf. Byron Shire's $5 million professional indemnity is a separate limit to ask for. The prescribed wording, the type of insurer the authority accepts and the indemnity clauses each need to be checked separately. Some authorities, including Parks Victoria, require an APRA-authorised insurer, and the City of Melbourne asks for an APRA-authorised insurer or one with a local claims agent bound by Australian law. Confirm with us how the certificate will satisfy each of these conditions before you apply.
A certificate can only be issued once the policy is in place. In one placement in 2026, terms came back within a day of the operator's activities being clarified, and the policy was placed the same week. Timing varies with the underwriter and the information supplied. Read the case study.
What to send us. The legal entity name and ABN the licence will be in. Each authority you are applying to, and the interested party text it prescribes. The licence conditions or deed, so we can check how the release and indemnity sit with your insurance and put them to the underwriter. Every activity and location on the application. Any requirement about the type of insurer, so we can confirm how the certificate will meet it. The full list is on what you need for a quote. If you sell through platforms or cruise lines, their terms are covered in booking platform and cruise line requirements.
Sources
Published requirements as at October 2026. Confirm the current figure with the authority before you rely on it.
This page is general information only. It doesn't take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it isn't legal advice. Cover depends on the policy wording, schedule, endorsements and the underwriter's assessment.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
RELATED GUIDES
QUOTE REQUEST
Tell us the tours you run, the parks and councils you need a licence from, the interested party wording each one asks for, and your annual revenue.
Send us the licence conditions and the wording each authority wants on the certificate. We'll check how the clauses sit with the insurance, put them to the specialist insurers and underwriting agencies we approach, and come back with the options available. Your lawyer reviews the licence itself.
Last updated: 03/10/2026
