What is the ECS
The ECS helps doctors and allied health professionals with the cost of claims that exceed their indemnity cover. It protects them against personal liability.
The ECS is one of the Australian Government’s medical and midwife indemnity insurance schemes.
If the claim does not exceed the indemnity cover, insurers may be able to access help through the High Cost Claims Scheme.
Why is it important
The ECS:
- removes the risk of practitioners being personally liable for malpractice claims against them
- helps them to focus on providing high quality health care.
Who is it for
The ECS provides cover for:
- doctors
- allied health professionals if the claim incident occurred before 1 July 2020.
Find out about the full eligibility criteria.
Allied health legacy cover
The ECS covered both doctors and allied health professionals until 1 July 2020, when the government launched the Allied Health Exceptional Claims Scheme.
The ECS continues to cover allied health professionals for incidents that occurred before that date.
What it covers
The ECS covers the cost of claims against eligible practitioners once it exceeds their indemnity cover limit. Find out more about coverage under the ECS.
How it works
If an eligible practitioner has a claim made against them:
- they, their representative, or their indemnity insurer can apply for an ECS payment
- Services Australia (the agency that administers the ECS):
- confirms it is for an eligible claim
- makes an ECS payment to the applicant.
The insurer and the ECS payment covers the cost of the eligible claim. The practitioner will also need to pay an excess amount if they agreed to one in their insurance contract.
Find out more about who pays for the claim and how it is paid.
Legislation
The government set up the ECS under the Medical Indemnity Act 2002. Find out about the legislation that supports indemnity schemes.
Contacts
Medical and professional indemnity insurance contact
