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 version
- Markets and councils commonly require stallholders to hold public liability at $10 million or $20 million, shown on a certificate of currency.
- Products liability matters if you sell food or goods: it responds when something you sold injures someone.
- Gary’s cover is a 12-month policy for regular stallholders. One-day event cover is a different product we don’t sell.
- The nearest stalls we have priced came back at about $430 to $830 a year.
Do market stallholders need public liability?
For most stallholders it isn’t a legal requirement. In practice it usually is a condition of trading: farmers markets, craft and makers markets, council-run markets, shopping centres and festivals commonly require each stallholder to hold their own public liability insurance, most often at $10 million or $20 million. The market’s own policy is generally written to protect the market, not you.
There is also a reason of your own. A market is a crowd of people walking past your gazebo, your cables and your table edges. If someone is hurt or their property damaged because of your stall, the claim is against you, and if you trade as a sole trader, against you personally.
What market stall insurance covers
For a stallholder, a business pack’s liability section is written to respond to:
- Public liability: injury to people or damage to their property caused by your stall, such as a gazebo caught by the wind, a trip over a tie-down, a hot plate.
- Products liability: injury or damage caused by something you sold or supplied, such as food that makes someone ill or a product that fails.
And optional sections can cover your own things:
- Portable equipment, for the gazebo, tables, scales, card reader and other gear you take to markets.
- Stock, under the property sections, within their conditions.
It isn’t written for your own injury, for refunding or replacing a faulty product itself, or for fines. Every policy’s exclusions and conditions are in its PDS.
Annual cover or one-day cover?
There are two ways stallholders buy public liability. Annual cover runs for 12 months and covers you at every market and stall you trade at in that time, within the policy’s terms. One-day or event cover covers a single date or event.
Gary arranges annual cover, through a business pack. It suits people who trade regularly, whether that’s every Saturday or a few times a season, because it is one policy and one certificate rather than a new purchase before each market. If you trade once a year, a one-day policy from another provider may suit you better, and we would rather say so.
How much market stall insurance costs
The nearest businesses our insurers have priced are a roadside stall and a mobile coffee cart, for public liability on its own, in August 2026. Each row is the lowest and highest insurer price for the same answers.
| The stall | A year |
|---|---|
| Roadside fruit and veg stall$10m public liability · $250,000 turnover · Victoria | $618 to $8303 insurers |
| Mobile coffee cart$5m public liability · $560,000 turnover · Victoria | $429 to $7643 insurers |
Including GST, stamp duty and the insurer’s fee, before our broker fee. What you sell, your turnover, the limit and your claims history will change them.
What you sell moves the price most. Food, drink and things people put on their skin or give to children carry more products risk than prints, plants or clothing. More on what drives a price in how much is public liability insurance.
Showing the market your cover
Markets usually ask for a certificate of currency from your insurer, showing the policy is current, your name (or business name) and the public liability limit. With Gary, the insurer’s certificate is emailed with your policy documents once the policy is placed, so you can send it to every market you apply to.
Some markets also ask to be noted on the policy. Tell us which market and what its conditions say, and we’ll ask the insurer.
Price cover for your stall
One online form, more than one insurer pricing it, and a certificate of currency to send the market once it’s placed.
Questions stallholders ask about insurance
Do I need public liability insurance for a market stall?
It is generally not a legal requirement, but most markets, councils and shopping centres require stallholders to hold public liability before they can trade, commonly at $10 million or $20 million, and ask to see a certificate of currency. Check the market’s stallholder conditions for the exact limit and wording.
How much is market stall insurance?
It depends on what you sell, your turnover, the limit and the insurer. The nearest examples we have priced came back at $618 to $830 a year for a roadside fruit and veg stall at $10 million, and $429 to $764 for a mobile coffee cart at $5 million. Food and products that people eat or use usually cost more to insure than, say, prints or clothing.
Does it cover the things I sell?
Products liability, part of the business liability section of a business pack, is written to respond when something you sold or supplied injures someone or damages their property, such as food that makes a customer ill. It does not pay to replace a faulty product itself. Your own stock and gear are covered by other sections.
Can I get cover for a single market day?
Not through Gary. The business pack is a 12-month policy, which suits stallholders who trade regularly. One-day or event-only cover is a different product sold by other providers. If you trade at several markets a year, an annual policy can work out simpler than buying cover each time.
Does my cover need to name the market?
Some markets ask to be noted on your policy as an interested party. Tell your broker the market’s name and what its conditions ask for; adding an interested party changes the policy, so the insurer has to agree to it.
Is this advice for me?
No. This guide is general information. It doesn’t consider your objectives, financial situation or needs. The prices are real examples for specific answers, not a quote for your stall. 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.