Residential Aged Care

Aged care and disability organisations can be held vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of employees performed in the course of their employment.

While independent contractors are not usually subject to vicarious liability, organisations may still face liability for contractor actions in certain circumstances. This can include failures in supervision, credentialing, rostering, care planning, policies or systems of work, or where the organisation owes a non-delegable duty of care to residents or participants.

As a result, claims and investigations may still be brought against the organisation even where an incident involves a contractor rather than an employee.

The shift to a rights-based framework has increased the legal exposure for providers. Insurers now prioritise “quality risks”—organisations that can demonstrate robust incident management and adherence to the strengthened Quality Standards. Facilities with clear documentation and high “care minutes” compliance are often positioned for more competitive premiums in the 2026 market.

While requirements can vary by state, most providers must hold Professional Indemnity (Medical Malpractice) and Public Liability insurance. Under the new Aged Care Act, providers are also under increased scrutiny for governance, making Management Liability (Directors & Officers) and Cyber Liability essential for protecting against regulatory fines and data breaches involving sensitive resident information.

Insurance must reflect the 24/7 clinical care environment, resident acuity and mandatory reporting obligations under the aged care regulatory framework.

Medical malpractice insurance protects aged care and disability organisations against claims alleging injury, neglect or inadequate care provided to residents or participants. This includes coverage for clinical incidents, care failures and organisational liability.

Aged care providers typically require a combination of medical malpractice insurance, professional indemnity insurance, public and products liability insurance, and abuse or molestation liability cover. The required insurance depends on the services provided, staffing model and regulatory obligations under the Aged Care Quality and Safety Framework.

In residential aged care, the terms medical malpractice and professional indemnity are often used interchangeably — but they are not always identical.

Medical malpractice insurance is typically designed to respond to claims arising from clinical care, treatment decisions and medical services provided to residents. This includes allegations of negligence involving nursing care, medication management, wound care, falls prevention and clinical supervision.

Professional indemnity insurance, by contrast, is broader in scope. It generally responds to claims arising from the provision of professional services, which may include clinical care as well as care planning, assessments, advice, documentation and supervision.

For aged care providers, the distinction matters because:

Residential facilities deliver both clinical and non-clinical professional services
Claims often involve a combination of nursing care, care planning and supervision
Some policies labelled “professional indemnity” may exclude or restrict medical malpractice exposure unless specifically included
In practice, aged care providers should ensure their policy:

clearly covers clinical care and nursing services
includes medical malpractice exposure, not just advisory services
aligns with the facility’s actual level of resident acuity and care delivered
A specialist aged care policy will typically integrate medical malpractice and professional indemnity protections within a single structure, ensuring the full scope of residential care risk is appropriately covered.