• Property and Third-Party Insurance - this includes cover for damage to equipment or property used within a registered playgroup session.
• VMIA Public and Products Liability – this covers a playgroup leader of a registered group being sued for negligence.

*Please note: The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

Not-for-profit community playgroups registered with Playgroup Victoria receive public liability and property insurance to the value of $20 million. Public liability insurance is the playgroup’s protection if it is found to be legally responsible for injury to a third party or damage to their property.

* Please note: The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

If you require further information about what is covered please see full VMIA policy details HERE

VMIA is the Victorian Government’s insurer and risk adviser, covering the people, places and projects that help Victorians thrive.

The VMIA document relates to Playgroup Victoria’s policy with VMIA. All Not-For-Profit Community Playgroup’s with up-to-date Playgroup Victoria Registration are included under the VMIA Public and Products Liability policy held by Playgroup Victoria.  VMIA Public and Products Liability covers a playgroup leader of a registered group being sued for negligence.

* Please note: The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

Yes, you can view the current policy HERE.

Personal accident and injury is covered under the third party and property if the “property” or the playgroup causes damage/ injury to someone. Personal accident and injury by itself is NOT covered if not due to the fault of the playgroup.

*Please note: The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

Each situation is different, it is best you speak to one of our staff to support you to get your claim process started. We are here to help – please contact us directly via 1800 171 882 or fill in our contact us form here.

*Please note: The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

A community playgroup is managed and run by community members – made of up parents, carers and/or other volunteers. Community playgroups are not -for- profit and exist to support local families and carers.

An activity refers to all actions that occur as part of running a playgroup. If a playgroup activity is consistent and happens every week at the playgroup, then it is classed as a playgroup activity. There is no specific list of what is or isn’t classed as a playgroup activity.

Regarding the types of play activities or play experiences that are covered – any activities or play experiences that are consistent and happen every week at your playgroup, are classed as a normal playgroup activity.

There is no specific list of what is or isn’t classed as a playgroup activity. In the event of a claim, the insurers will assess each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim.

For further clarification on any exclusions under the VMIA Public Liability insurance please review page 14 of the VMIA policy HERE

For further clarification on specific exclusions under the Property and Third-Party Insurance - cover please contact:

Darryn Barnes
PSC Insurance Brokers
dbarnes@pscinsurance.com.au
(02) 6280 0747

*Please note: Personal accident and injury by itself is not covered if not due to the fault of the playgroup. Personal accident and injury is covered under the third party and property in the event that the “property” or the playgroup causes damage/ injury to someone. The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

If a jumping castle is hired and is not part of your normal playgroup activities, it would not be covered under your playgroup insurance. The jumping castle provider would need their own public liability insurance.

If the playgroup owns the jumping castle, it would be classed as the playgroup’s property and would fall under the cover.

A session is held by a not-for-profit community playgroup on a set day/time to conduct playgroup activities, where each parent or caregiver remains with the child/ren they bring to the playgroup, is responsible for the child/ren and supervises them for the duration of the playgroups session. 
An example of a playgroup session could be – Wednesday morning from 9.30am-11.30am.

No, as along as all sessions running are at the same venue and are registered on the Playgroup Victoria system.

No, our insurance does not extend cover to playgroups running as a business. Playgroup Victoria insurance is for Not-for-Profit Community Playgroups only. If a playgroup is running as a business rather than a not-for-profit organisation, the insurance providers would likely have to determine what the policy will or will not cover in the event of a claim. The insurers assess each claim on its individual merit and Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim.

Playgroup Victoria would recommend you seek professional advice from an insurance broker if you are running your playgroup as a business for profit. Our recommended insurance broker is:
Darryn Barnes – PSC Insurance Brokers
dbarnes@pscinsurance.com.au
02 6280 0747

For insurance purposes, Playgroup Victoria recommends that playgroups keep the following records for seven years:

• attendance records
• accident/incident/injury records (note – it is best practice to complete any incident forms at the time of the incident or as close to the time the incident has occurred)

This is not mandatory, but best practice when running a playgroup. Templates for these records are available for registered playgroups and can be found in the Playgroup Toolkit. Login to your Playgroup portal to access the Toolkit. 

It is also recommended that you do an annual audit of your property and equipment and keep a record of this on file.

Where a playgroup facilitator is receiving funds from a community playgroup to run the group – paid facilitator insurance can be provided. A Paid Facilitator who is employed by a business and being paid a wage would not be included in the Playgroup Victoria facilitator cover. Their employer would need to provide appropriate Work Cover.  Please see the checklist below to clarify what a paid facilitator is. If you fall into the category of a paid facilitator, read on for what you will need to do.

Are you a Paid Facilitator?

• I am sole trader being paid to run a not-for-profit playgroup
• I have a current Working with Childrens Check or VIT Card
• My playgroup has up-to-date registration with Playgroup Victoria

Paid Facilitator insurance is NOT for:

• An employee of an organisation being paid a wage to facilitate the playgroup
• A sole trader running a playgroup for profit
• A Family Day Carer facilitating the playgroup as part of their role

*We recommend that any of the above types of paid facilitators seek further insurance advice. 

Where a paid facilitator is engaged to run a playgroup, for the paid facilitator to fall within the definition of insured within the registered playgroups Public Liability Insurance, the following requirements must be met:

• The playgroup must be registered with Playgroup Victoria – $50 for 12 months
• The paid facilitator must pay an annual fee of $45 to fall within the definition of insured within the registered playgroups Public Liability Insurance
• The paid facilitator must provide Playgroup Victoria with a scanned copy of a valid Working with Children’s Check (WWC) or VIT Registration Card. Please note: Paid facilitators are responsible for providing up-to-date Working with Children’s Check or VIT Registration documentation to Playgroup Victoria

To register as a Paid Facilitator, please email membership@playgroup.org.au with the following information:

• Full name
• Email address
• Contact number
• Name of Playgroup associated with
• Copy of your Working with Children’s Check (WWC) or VIT Registration Card

Once we receive your details, you will be sent an invoice for payment of your registration fee.

The Paid Facilitator Insurance is an optional product and is available for those who require it, it is not mandatory.

No. Paid Facilitator Insurance is a non-transferable product and is available for those who require it, it is not mandatory.

No. Any non-playgroup activities, or anything that is not a normal part of your playgroup session, including hiring or using your space outside of your playgroup session, would not be covered.

This may depend on the activity or the venue that the playgroup attends. In general, if your playgroup is going on an excursion to an open public space outside of your regular venue, there should be no issue with this as it is considered a normal playgroup activity. If your playgroup goes for an excursion to a commercial attraction, playcentre etc, your playgroup members would then be considered patrons of the attraction.

To ensure you are not held negligible for anything that may happen on your outing, you may want to look into creating a waiver for your group members to sign that they agree to partake in the exsurion at their own risk.

Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. In the event of a claim, the insurers will assess each claim on its individual case.

If your playgroup is running as a not-for-profit playgroup, the registered playgroup sessions may be covered under the Playgroup Registration insurance. We advise you seek professional advice from an insurance broker to cover any other business activities outside of your registered playgroup session.

Our recommended insurance broker is:
Darryn Barnes – PSC Insurance Brokers
dbarnes@pscinsurance.com.au
02 6280 0747

We are seeing an emerging trend of people starting a business by running a playgroup. We welcome for-profit playgroups to register with Playgroup Victoria to have access to our resources, advertising and other member offers. However, Playgroup Victoria Playgroup registration insurance cover is valid only for not-for-profit playgroups, if you playgroup is running for profit you would not be valid for the insurance offering. As well, the business arrangements of the facilitator or leader of the playgroup are not the issue for Playgroup Victoria or our insurer. If you require insurance and you are running your playgroup for profit, Playgroup Victoria would recommend you seek professional advice from an insurance broker.

Our recommended insurance broker is:

Darryn Barnes – PSC Insurance Brokers

dbarnes@pscinsurance.com.au

02 6280 0747

Yes! If you would like to access advertising, resources, and support. We encourage any playgroup to register with Playgroup Victoria to gain access to the benefits we have to offer including playgroup resources such as promotional items, play sheets and activity booklets, advertising options, and many other member offers.

No. There are no age limits or exclusions as part of the insurance cover. Typically, playgroup is for children aged 0-5 years. But it is understandable that sometimes an older/school-aged sibling may need to attend the group – for example school holidays or pupil free days.

*Please note: If only school-aged children will be attending the sessions during school holidays and no younger children are present, this would no longer be considered a playgroup and therefore may not be covered. The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions will apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

There are no age limits or age exclusions as part of the insurance cover. Typically, playgroup is for children aged 0-5 years.

*Please note: Any claims made are individually assessed and processed by the insurance provider, not Playgroup Victoria. The insurer assesses each claim on its individual case, conditions may apply on all claims, final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.

Yes. If your playgroup is running multiple sessions that are held at different venues then they need to be registered separately. Playgroup registration is linked with the location your playgroup is normally hosted from. From time to time we understand that the playgroup may have to use a different location due to varying circumstances, it is best that you inform us of this as soon as possible.

As the playgroup is consistently running out of one venue, one playgroup registration will cover all sessions run from the one venue.

Fundraising activities or small community events organised or coordinated by the playgroup are classed as normal playgroup activities and fall under the insurance cover. Playgroup fundraising or community events may include sausage sizzles, BBQ’s, picnics, and fetes for example. However, if you are engaging with external businesses or third-party vendors to operate as part of your event, please note they will NOT be covered under your Playgroup Registration insurance.

Third-party vendors or businesses may include (but are not limited to) face painters, jumping castle providers, petting zoos, food vendors, musicians/performers etc.  If you intend on engaging with third-party vendors as part of your event, we recommend that you view a copy of their certificate of currency before engaging with them to ensure that they have their own coverage.

We advise playgroups to apply appropriate risk management to identify, assess and treat potential risks in place before approving the proposed event. It is also advised for playgroups to contact their local council and venue provider to ensure the event is not breaching the conditions of venue hire.

*Please note: Our insurer will assess any claim made on its individual case. Playgroup Victoria cannot pre-empt the outcome of any potential claim. Conditions may apply on all claims and final coverage will be up to the insurer. Playgroup Victoria has no part in the final decision on what will or won’t be covered on a claim.