General information only
This guide explains what published policy wordings say and what Australian law requires. It is general information, not advice, and it doesn’t consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Policies differ, and wordings change: the PDS, policy wording and schedule for your own cover are the documents that count. The insurers quoted here are examples we could read in full; they are not necessarily on our panel.
The short answer
- For small, lower-risk businesses, $5 million to $10 million of public liability alone commonly came back at about $300 to $1,500 a year.
- A $20 million limit, a turnover in the millions or riskier work (trades, building, manufacturing) took it to several thousand dollars, and close to $10,000 for the building trades we priced.
- For the same answers, the highest price on our panel was up to 2.8 times the lowest.
- These are annual premiums including GST, stamp duty and the insurer’s fee, before our broker fee.
What do real businesses pay for public liability?
Every row below is one set of answers, priced by each insurer on our panel that would quote it, for public liability on its own (no property or other sections). These are prices the insurers returned between August and October 2026, not estimates. Where only one insurer would price the business, the row shows its single price.
| Business, limit, turnover, state | Price a year |
|---|---|
| Barber shop$5m cover · $290,000 turnover · VIC | $303 to $7413 insurers priced it |
| Graphic designer$10m cover · $120,000 turnover · NSW | $309 to $4112 insurers priced it |
| Florist$5m cover · $400,000 turnover · VIC | $413 to $5813 insurers priced it |
| Mobile coffee cart$5m cover · $560,000 turnover · VIC | $429 to $7643 insurers priced it |
| Roadside fruit and veg stall$10m cover · $250,000 turnover · VIC | $618 to $8303 insurers priced it |
| Barber shop$10m cover · $500,000 turnover · VIC | $767 to $1,1463 insurers priced it |
| Café (no deep frying)$10m cover · $600,000 turnover · VIC | $1,104 to $1,5093 insurers priced it |
| Optometrist$20m cover · $1.5 million turnover · VIC | $1,244 to $1,6883 insurers priced it |
| Accountant$20m cover · $5.6 million turnover · VIC | $981 to $2,7182 insurers priced it |
| Florist$20m cover · $4 million turnover · VIC | $2,112 to $4,9323 insurers priced it |
| Online clothing retailer$20m cover · $5.6 million turnover · VIC | $2,047 to $5,0553 insurers priced it |
| Bricklayer (domestic work)$20m cover · $5.6 million turnover · VIC | $9,588one insurer priced it |
| Landscaper (retaining walls, fences)$20m cover · $5.6 million turnover · VIC | $9,756one insurer priced it |
Prices include GST, stamp duty and the insurer’s own fee, and exclude our broker fee. They are for the answers shown, on the dates priced; your business, claims history and location will change them, and insurers change their rates. Turnovers are rounded.
How much more does $10 million or $20 million of public liability cost?
To isolate the limit, we priced the same three businesses three times on our panel in November 2026, changing nothing but the limit. With the same insurer and the same answers, $10 million cost 9% to 25% more than $5 million, and $20 million cost 24% to 100% more. Four times the cover was nowhere near four times the price.
| Business | Price a year, by limit |
|---|---|
| Hairdresser, Victoria$120,000 turnover · 4 insurers priced every limit | $5m: $304 to $1,224$10m: $333 to $1,342$20m: $378 to $1,695 |
| Domestic electrician, NSW$300,000 turnover · 5 insurers priced every limit | $5m: $670 to $1,442$10m: $788 to $1,672$20m: $905 to $2,051 |
| Cleaner (indoor, commercial), NSW$300,000 turnover · 4 insurers priced every limit | $5m: $809 to $1,872$10m: $930 to $2,178$20m: $1,329 to $2,525 |
Public liability on its own, annual premiums including GST, stamp duty and the insurer’s fee, before our broker fee. Each range is the insurers that priced the business at all three limits. The cheapest insurer at $5 million was not always the cheapest at $20 million: for the cleaner, one insurer was lowest at $5 million and $10 million and another at $20 million.
Which limit you need is usually decided by whoever asks for the cover. See how much cover you need below.
What changes the price of public liability?
- What the business does. The biggest factor. Work on other people’s property, at heights or with tools (building, landscaping, plumbing) carries more risk than an office or a shop, which is why the bricklayer and landscaper above sit near $10,000. Real plumbing prices are in our guide to plumber insurance, and the electrician above in electrician insurance. Some work narrows the market instead: three of four insurers we asked declined personal trainers outright.
- Turnover and wages. Lower turnover is one reason public liability for sole traders is often at the bottom of these ranges. More turnover usually means more customers, jobs or products, so more chances for a claim. The same barber shop moved from $303 to $741 at $290,000 to $767 to $1,146 at $500,000 (with a higher limit too).
- The limit you choose. $5 million, $10 million or $20 million. See the next section.
- Claims history. Past public liability claims usually raise the price, and some insurers decline after them.
- Where you work. Stamp duty is set by each state (the ACT charges none on general insurance), and some insurers rate locations differently.
- Contractors and products. Using subcontractors, or making, importing or selling products, adds to what the insurer is covering. Food and goods sold at markets are a common example: see market stall insurance.
- The excess. A higher excess usually lowers the premium a little, in exchange for paying more of each claim yourself.
How much public liability cover do you need?
Public liability is commonly bought at $5 million, $10 million or $20 million. Often the number is set for you: commercial leases, councils, shopping centres, venues and head contractors commonly ask for $10 million or $20 million, and the agreement will say which. Without a requirement, the question is how large a claim your business could realistically face; a serious injury claim can run into the millions.
A higher limit costs more, but rarely in proportion. Whoever asks for the cover will usually want proof too, which is a certificate of currency from the insurer.
Why does the same business get very different prices?
Because each insurer rates risk its own way. Look across the table and the gap between the lowest and highest price for identical answers is rarely small. An accountant at $20 million was $981 with one insurer and $2,718 with another, 2.8 times as much. A florist at $20 million ranged from $2,112 to $4,932.
It happens because each insurer has its own appetite (the businesses it wants to write), its own claims experience and its own way of rating. One insurer may want cafés and price them keenly while another prices them to avoid them. None of that is visible from one quote, which is the case for comparing. The cover also differs between policies, so the cheapest price is not automatically the like-for-like one: the excess, the exclusions and any conditions are in each insurer’s PDS.
Gary prices public liability with more than one insurer in a single form, and shows the PDS beside each price.
What’s included in a public liability price?
- The base premium: the insurer’s charge for the risk.
- GST: 10%.
- Stamp duty: a state tax on the premium, which varies by state.
- The insurer’s fee: some insurers add a policy fee.
- The broker fee: what a broker charges for arranging it. Gary shows its fee before you pay.
Not sure public liability is the cover you are after? Our guide to public liability vs professional indemnity explains what each one is for, and how much is professional indemnity insurance has the same real-price tables for PI. To see what public liability covers, go to public liability insurance.
See your own price, not an average
One online form, more than one insurer pricing it, and the PDS beside every price.
Questions people ask about the cost of public liability
How much is public liability insurance in Australia?
For the small, lower-risk businesses we have priced, $5 million to $10 million of public liability alone commonly came back between about $300 and $1,500 a year. Businesses with higher turnover, a $20 million limit or riskier work (trades, building, manufacturing) were often several thousand dollars. The price depends on the business, its turnover, the limit, its claims history and the insurer.
Is public liability insurance cheaper for sole traders?
Often, because a sole trader usually has lower turnover and wages, and both feed into the price. A graphic designer turning over $120,000 was priced at $309 to $411 a year for $10 million of cover. The type of work matters more than being a sole trader, though: a sole trader doing building work can pay more than a larger office business.
How much is $10 million public liability insurance?
For the small businesses we priced at every limit, $10 million of public liability alone came back at $333 to $1,342 a year for a Victorian hairdresser turning over $120,000, $788 to $1,672 for a NSW domestic electrician at $300,000 and $930 to $2,178 for a NSW cleaner at $300,000. With the same insurer and the same answers, $10 million cost 9% to 25% more than $5 million.
How much is $20 million public liability insurance?
For the same three businesses, $20 million came back at $378 to $1,695 a year for the hairdresser, $905 to $2,051 for the electrician and $1,329 to $2,525 for the cleaner. With the same insurer and the same answers, $20 million cost 24% to 100% more than $5 million: four times the cover, nowhere near four times the price.
Why does a $20 million limit cost more than $5 million?
The limit is the most the insurer will pay for a claim (or for all claims in a year, for products liability), so a higher limit means more of the insurer’s money at risk. The jump is far less than four times, because most claims are well under $5 million; the extra premium is paying for the rare large claim. In our prices it was 24% to 100% more.
Can I pay for public liability monthly?
Many policies can be paid monthly through premium funding, which is a loan for the annual premium and usually costs a little more in total than paying once. The price on this page is the annual premium.
Is public liability insurance tax deductible?
Insurance premiums for a business are generally a deductible business expense. Whether and how it applies to you is a question for your accountant; this is general information, not tax advice.
Is this advice for me?
No. The prices here are real examples for specific answers, not a quote for your business, and this guide is general information. It doesn’t consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. Read the PDS for any cover you are considering.
More plain-English reading in Gary’s guides.
Important
This guide is general information only and is not personal advice. It doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It summarises published documents as they stood when we read them; insurers change their wordings, and a policy’s schedule and endorsements can change how its wording applies. Quotations are reproduced for commentary and are accurate to the versions listed. Before deciding on any cover, read the PDS, policy wording and Target Market Determination for that product. Gary is not suggesting any of the insurers named is, or isn’t, right for your business.
Want to see what public liability cover costs you?
One form, the PDS beside every price, and a broker to ask when a condition doesn’t make sense.