Insurance groups urge NSW to abolish emergency services levy amid soaring premiums

A coalition of insurers and consumer groups is pressing the New South Wales parliament to eliminate the emergency services levy before the 2027 state election, citing a 54% rise over six years.

Insurance industry representatives, including the Insurance Council of Australia, Strata Community Association NSW and the Financial Rights Legal Centre, are calling on the NSW parliament to scrap the emergency services levy before the March 2027 election, after the charge rose 54% in six years. The levy now provides about three-quarters of the state's emergency services budget and adds up to 18% to household insurance costs.

A regional pensioner named Hans reported his premium increasing by almost $1,000, with the levy portion rising from $273 to $362. Premier Chris Minns has promised to replace the levy with a simple, transparent property levy, and a parliamentary inquiry is set to report later this year. ICA modelling indicates that a property levy could lower average household premiums by $308 annually and benefit disaster-prone areas the most. Stakeholders also warned that climate-driven premium hikes threaten loan viability and are exploring green-loan products to improve resilience.