Journey Insurance in Australia: The Commute Your Insurance Might Be Missing

What Is Journey Insurance?

Journey Insurance provides personal accident cover for employees commuting between home and their regular workplace. It can cover loss of income, medical expenses not covered by Medicare, and lump sums for serious injury or death.

The critical bit? It kicks in where workers’ compensation drops out.

Why Journey Insurance Exists

Before 2012, most states automatically covered commute-related injuries under workers’ comp. But reforms in states like NSW, QLD, and VIC either narrowed or removed that protection. The result? Your team might be uninsured while doing something as routine as walking to the train station or driving to the office.

If someone is injured during a standard commute, you could both be left exposed in legal, financial or ethical ways.

Updated State-by-State Guide

If your business is in NSW, QLD, VIC, WA or SA, your employees are likely uncovered for commuting incidents.

Isn’t Travel Insurance Enough?

You might be wondering: “If I already have corporate travel insurance, do I really need journey insurance too?”

Good question. And the answer is yes, absolutely.

Here’s why:

Travel Insurance and Journey Insurance Cover Different Things

• Corporate travel insurance typically applies to pre-approved business trips away from the employee’s regular place of work, such as interstate conferences, international travel or extended field trips.
• Journey insurance specifically covers daily commutes, including the trip to the office or job site and back home. These are not considered “business travel” by most travel insurance policies.

Standard Travel Insurance Won’t Cover Your 7:00am Commute

If an employee gets hit by a car walking to the office, or slips on a train platform during their regular commute, travel insurance won’t respond. That’s where Journey Insurance steps in, right when you need it most.

They Complement Each Other

Think of travel insurance as your big-ticket cover for trips away, and journey insurance as your everyday safety net. Together, they make sure your staff are protected whether they’re catching a plane or just the train.

Who Is It For?

Journey Insurance is ideal for:

• Businesses based in the journey-exclusion states,
• Teams commuting regularly to worksites, offices or appointments,
• Field staff, contractors, sales teams, engineers, community services, healthcare workers, and more;
• Employers who genuinely care about employee wellbeing.

It sends a powerful message: “We’ve got your back, even beyond the office walls.”

What Does It Cover?

Core Cover

• Accidental death or permanent disablement
• Weekly income benefits (usually 85% of salary during recovery)
• Non-Medicare medical expenses (like physio or chiro)
• Fractured bones & dental injuries

Extras You Can Include

• Funeral and repatriation costs
• Family transport and accommodation
• Childcare and education support
• Retraining and return-to-work benefits
• Coverage during lunch breaks or minor detours (with the right extensions)

A Quick Example

Imagine Jess, a team lead in Melbourne, is riding her bike to work when she’s hit by a car. She breaks her leg, needs surgery, and can’t work for eight weeks.

• Under Victoria’s WorkCover? She’s not covered, as commuting is excluded.
• Under Travel Insurance? No luck, it’s not a business trip.
• With Journey Insurance? She’s likely eligible for income replacement, medical costs, and rehabilitation support.

You’ve just avoided a major financial gap and done right by your employee.

Final Thoughts (From the Broker’s Desk)

Journey Insurance isn’t glamorous, but when the unexpected happens, it’s gold. It protects your team during their most routine risk: getting to and from work.
It’s cost-effective, easy to implement, and shows your staff that you’re thinking beyond the 9 to 5.

If you’re unsure about your current cover or want to close a gap you didn’t know existed, reach out. We’ll talk you through it, no jargon, no hard sell. Just the right advice.

Stay safe, and we’ll see you on the commute.

🔗 Useful Links for Employers Considering Journey Insurance

🧾 Here’s a curated list of resources to help you understand the bigger picture when it comes to journey claims, state legislation, and complementary coverage:

• NSW – Workers Compensation Act 1987 (Section 10 – Journey Claims)
  www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/wca1987255/s10.html
• Victoria – WorkSafe VIC Overview
  www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/workcover-insurance
• Queensland – WorkCover QLD
  www.worksafe.qld.gov.au
• South Australia – ReturnToWorkSA
  www.rtwsa.com
• Western Australia – WorkCover WA
  www.workcover.wa.gov.au
• Tasmania – WorkSafe TAS
  www.worksafe.tas.gov.au
• Northern Territory – NT WorkSafe
  www.worksafe.nt.gov.au
• Australian Capital Territory – Access Canberra
  www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au

📘 Complementary Schemes

• Transport Accident Commission (TAC) – VIC Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
  www.tac.vic.gov.au
• Comcare (Federal Workers’ Comp Scheme)
  www.comcare.gov.au

📄 Industry & Insurance Bodies

• Safe Work Australia – Comparison of Workers’ Comp Schemes
  www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
• Insurance Council of Australia – General Insurance Code of Practice
  www.codeofpractice.com.au

Disclaimer:

KBI PTY LTD is an Authorised Representative (450152) of KBI Group Pty Ltd (ABN 56 167 437 121, AFSL 494792). Any advice in this article is general in nature and does not take your personal circumstances into account. When considering the purchase of an insurance policy, you should consider whether the advice is suitable for you and your personal circumstances. Before you make any decision about whether to acquire a certain product, you should obtain and read the KBI Financial Services Guide and relevant product disclosure statement.