Psychology Board: Professional indemnity insurance

A psychologist or provisional psychologist practising in Australia is covered by their own or third-party PII arrangements for every aspect of their practice, in every location, in the private, non-government and public sectors, and whether full-time, part-time, self-employed, employed, unpaid or volunteer. Non-practising registrants are not covered by the standard; exemptions exist where the scope of practice involves no psychological services or opinion on anyone's health, where a statutory exemption from liability applies, or where practice is exclusively overseas.

• Certificate of currency or employer letter confirming cover for each practice setting
• Mapping of each role and location to the policy that covers it

• Private or volunteer work outside the employer's cover
• Telehealth clients in another state assumed covered

The PII must include adequate and appropriate civil liability cover, appropriate retroactive cover for otherwise uncovered matters from prior practice, and automatic reinstatement or an equivalent that stops a single claim exhausting the cover, or the equivalent of these under third-party arrangements.

• Policy schedule showing civil liability limit, retroactive date and reinstatement clause

• Retroactive date later than the start of practice
• Aggregate limit with no reinstatement

Where covered by an employer, education provider or union, ask what the arrangement covers and take out additional cover if it does not meet the standard; do not practise in any area excluded from cover; and hold individual cover for practice outside the stated employment, such as practical CPD components, study involving client contact or volunteer work not separately covered.

• Written confirmation from the third party of what its arrangement covers
• Individual policy for private or volunteer work

• Exclusions in the employer policy not read
• Private practice run on the employer's cover

When arranging your own PII, give the broker, insurer or indemnifier accurate and current information about the scope and nature of practice, be able to show full disclosure, and justify the decisions about the cover if the Board or Ahpra asks. Insurers should generally be APRA-registered general insurers or Lloyd's underwriters providing cover through a contract of insurance.

• Proposal form or broker correspondence describing the practice
• Note of the reasoning for the cover limit chosen

• Scope expanded without telling the insurer
• Discretionary cover from an unregistered provider

Declare on applying that you will not practise without compliant PII; declare at each renewal that you practised in line with the standard and will not practise without compliant PII; and notify the Board within seven days if appropriate PII arrangements are no longer in place (National Law ss 129 and 130). Practising without PII or failing to notify is not an offence but may ground health, conduct or performance action.

• Application and renewal declarations
• Written notice to the Board of lapsed cover with date
• Diary control for policy expiry dates

• Policy lapsed at renewal date with no notice
• Practice continued between lapse and replacement

On ceasing practice take out appropriate run-off cover for matters arising from previous practice as a registered psychologist that would otherwise be uncovered.

• Run-off policy or occurrence-based policy covering the prior practice period

• Claims-made policy cancelled on retirement with no run-off

Retain documentary evidence of insurance held in your own name for at least five years; where covered by a third party, obtain the documentation if the Board asks and send it a certified copy of the insurer's currency certificate, or the third party's written confirmation of cover.

• Five years of certificates of currency
• Certified copy supplied in response to a Board request

• Earlier years' certificates not kept
• Unable to obtain employer confirmation promptly on audit