Deferred Sales Model for add-on insurance class exemptions, exposure draft regulations

On 27 July 2026 the Treasury released for consultation an exposure draft of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Amendment (Deferred Sales Model Exemptions) Regulations 2026, which would extend the existing class exemptions from the deferred sales model for add-on insurance for a further five years, from 5 October 2026 to 5 October 2031. The deferred sales model, set out in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, imposes a four day deferral period between the sale of a principal product and the sale of an add-on insurance product, intended to give consumers time to consider the cover and compare alternatives.

The existing exemptions apply to classes including add-on comprehensive motor vehicle or vessel insurance, compulsory third party motor vehicle insurance, home and contents insurance, home building insurance, landlord insurance, limited motor vehicle or vessel insurance, transport and delivery insurance, travel insurance, and business-related and superannuation-related add-on insurance products. Treasury's review concluded that these classes represent a high level of consumer value or are mandatory, and that continued exemption is consistent with the deferred sales model's purpose of preventing pressure selling of low-value add-on products, distinguishing them from the products that originally prompted the Hayne Royal Commission recommendation for the model. Treasury also invited views on whether any new class exemptions should be granted.

Consultation on the exposure draft closed on 7 August 2026. Insurers and distributors of the listed add-on products should expect the exemptions to continue without a gap if the final regulations are made before the current exemptions expire on 5 October 2026, though the regulations had not been finalised as at the date of this briefing.