The Victorian Government has delayed the implementation of its controversial State Emergency Service Act by 12 months to July 1 next year. The question now is whether the delay has been caused by the sheer difficulty of the Act or because there’s an election due later this year.

The Act requires insurers to report the notional premium for property policies with deductibles of $10,000 or more. But it can’t come into force until a formula to calculate notional premium has been developed.

An actuary to prepare the calculation method hasn’t even been appointed yet, with the latest recruitment target date the end of March.

The Victorian Government advised the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) last week that the implementation will be delayed due to the complexity of the issue and the time needed for full consultation with stakeholders. That would be a change; there was none at all when the Act was rammed through Parliament late last year.

ICA Group Manager Southern Division Peter Jamvold says the Office of the Victorian Emergency Services Commissioner, which is responsible for preparing the regulations specifying the method for calculating notional premium on commercial deductibles, told him about the postponement. But he believes the Government might also be concerned about the likely furore over significant increases in business taxes.

“The Government wouldn’t want to implement a major new tax on commercial insureds in the months leading up to the Victorian state election scheduled for 25 November,” he said.