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From local councils, we collect payments that account for 11.7 per cent of the costs of fire and emergency services in NSW.
From insurers of property in NSW, we collect the levy that is paid as part of insurance premiums.
Commissioner's practice note: Emergency services levy
This Commissioner’s practice note explains how the Emergency Services Levy Act 2017 is administered, including key aspects of the assessment of initial and final assessments, and the interpretation of key terms used in the legislation.
What you must do
Organisation
Requirements
Councils and insurers
You must pay the levy by the due date.
New insurers
Contact uswithin 30 days of becoming entitled to receive premiums for property in NSW.
All insurers (includes foreign insurers and foreign insured policy holders)
You must lodge a return with us by 30 September each year, showing the premium/s paid and emergency services levy collected in the previous financial year. Contact us if you need more information.
Online services
Our secure online payment portals allow councils and insurers to:
Contact us if you're having difficulty logging in to or using the system.
When making a payment please ensure that you use the payment code supplied on the Notice of Assessment so that the payment is correctly allocated to your account. This will avoid any interest and penalties being applied for late payment.
All insurers, including foreign insurers and all those who hold a policy with a foreign insurer, must lodge a return by 30 September each year, showing the premiums paid in the previous financial year.
Insurers that aren't regulated by APRA and aren't registered in Australia are considered to be foreign insurers.
If you have an insurance policy with a foreign insurer for a property in NSW, your insurer is deemed a foreign insurer and you're a foreign insured person.
If you're insured with a foreign insurer and they don't pay the emergency services levy portion of your premium to us, we'll collect it from you. You'd need to contact your insurer to seek a refund.
For information about the levy applied to your insurance premium, contact your insurer.
Webinars and Guides
View our webinars for insurers about the Emergency Services Levy.
any insurance of property, including consequential loss
house owners and householders, however designated (buildings or contents, or both)
personal jewellery and clothing, personal effects and works of art
motor vehicle and motorcycle
marine and baggage – any insurance confined to maritime perils or to risks involving transportation by sea, land or air, including storage, but not including static risks (all movements of goods, stock or material associated with processing or storage operations), including:
combined fire and hail on growing crops
livestock.
Gazetted Contribution target
The Contribution Target for the 2024-25 financial year as gazetted is: $1,396,033,160.00.
Premiums
2023-2024 insurance industry premiums subject to contribution for each class of policy
Each year, insurers are asked to pay a proportion of the cost of providing fire and emergency services. This amount to be paid by the insurance industry is the Contribution Target, which is determined and gazetted under the Emergency Services Levy Act 2017.
The relevant amount of premiums for an insurer is determined by multiplying the premiums of the insurer (including ESL) for different categories of insurance by a legislated percentage and then adding those amounts together. Each insurer’s total amount is then divided by the industry’s total amount to determine their share of the Contribution Target to be contributed.
Insurance industry premiums and premiums subject to contribution are published in November each year for the previous financial year.
The total industry premiums, and the industry premiums relevant to contribution, for each category of insurance reported by insurers for 2023-2024 financial year are shown below:
Class of insurance policy
Total premiums
(excluding GST and duty)
Proportion of industry premiums relevant to contribution
Amount of premiums subject to the contribution
Item 1. Any insurance of property including consequential loss but not including any insurance of a class specified elsewhere in the Schedule.
$2,760,856,227
80%
$2,208,684,981
Item 2. Houseowners and householders, however designated (buildings or contents or both).
$5,120,855,601
50%
$2,560,427,800
Item 3. Personal combined on personal jewellery and clothing, personal effects and works of art.
$117,307,733
10%
$11,730,773
Item 4. Motor vehicle and motorcycle.
$6,730,770,392
2%
$168,269,260
Item 5. Marine and baggage – any insurance confined to maritime perils or confined to risks involving transportation on land or in the air, including storage incidental to transportation by sea, land or air, but not including static risks* (which are to be declared under Item 1).
$117,090,756
1%
$1,170,907
Item 6(a). Combined fire and hail on growing crops.
$106,232,219
1%
$1,062,322
Item 6(b). Livestock
$8,490,000
1%
$84,900
Item 7. Aviation hull
$22,472,671
0%
$0
Item 8(a). Loss by theft
$224,196,415
0%
$0
Item 8(b). Plate glass
$14,126,773
0%
$0
Item 8(c). Machinery – confined to mechanical breakdown and/or consequential loss arising from mechanical breakdown.
$78,223,650
0%
$0
Item 8(d). Explosion or collapse of boiler and pressure vessels – confined to damage other than by fire.
$1,031,206
0%
$0
Item 8(e). Inherent or latent defects – confined to damage and/or consequential loss arising out of defective design, defective workmanship or defective materials but excluding any damage or consequential loss from fire.
No, the ESL team only deal with insurance companies and councils. Individual policy holders may contact the Assistant Treasurer for any complaints against insurers.
Yes, insurers must log in online on or before 31 March and advise the date they will stop collecting ESL premiums. This can be done by selecting the ‘Change In Circumstances’ tab in the online portal. If you fail to do so, you may continue to be liable for the initial contribution in the next financial year.
Yes, insurers are still required to lodge a Return of Premium with actual premiums collected by 30 September. This is to allow Revenue NSW to issue a final Notice of Assessment in November with the adjustments.
An Audit Certificate must be provided when insurers submit their Return of Premium with actual premiums collected by 30 September every year. Refer to the Commissioner's Practice Note for the approved template and content of Auditor’s certificates. Foreign insurers and foreign insured policy holders are exempt from this requirement.
An Audit Certificate is not required when a Return of Premium is lodged with projected figures.
There is no provision in the Emergency Services Levy Act 2017 to re-assess an Initial Notice of Assessment. You may contact our Tax Debt team for an extended payment plan option if you have difficulties paying the levy.
No, Revenue NSW corresponds with all their clients via e-mail. Therefore, it is critical that all clients update their contact details (especially the main contact/administrator) as soon as a change occurs.
Insurers can submit and/or re-submit a Return of Premium on or before 30 September online. Any Return of Premium lodged after 30 September will incur a late lodgement interest and can only be e-mailed to the Emergency Services Levy team at [email protected] up until 30 October.
If you fail to lodge a Return of Premium, the Chief Commissioner may estimate the total amount of your premiums subject to contributions. You will be taken to have committed a tax default which may be subject to interest and penalty tax under the Taxation Administration Act 1996.
No, Revenue NSW does not prescribe any set percentage or rates to be collected for ESL. Revenue NSW cannot advise insurers on how to set ESL rates for different classes of policies.
Revenue NSW issues the Initial Notice of Assessment on 30 April for the relevant financial year. The initial contribution is payable in 4 instalments, with instalments due on 1 September, 1 December, 1 March and 1 June. Instalment notice reminders are sent at least 21 days before the payment due date.
Newly registered entities that are registered after 30 April receive their initial assessments with an adjusted date. Hence, payment due dates are adjusted (i.e. 2/3 instalments may have the same due date) to incorporate the payments for the previous quarters.
No, the payment of ESL by an insurer or council to the NSW Government does not attract GST. However, if insurers include the ESL as a component of the insurance premium charged to its customers, GST is payable on the gross premium, including the amount attributed to the ESL.
All hail damage policies are liable for emergency service levy (ESL) as defined under Part 2, Section 9 of the Emergency Service Levy Act 2017 ‘relevant insurance means insurance against loss or damage to property in the State under a class of policy specified in Schedule 1’.
