The Federal Government has extended a professional indemnity (PI) insurance exemption for midwives in private practice so that they can continue offering homebirth services. 

The exemption has been in place since 2010 and has been repeatedly extended as Canberra pursues a permanent solution after private insurers stopped offering "suitable" cover for homebirth intrapartum care services.

Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearne announced the extension on Friday and said the Government will work with state and territory health ministers to finalise a solution to the “longstanding and entrenched issue privately practising midwives face in accessing appropriate professional indemnity insurance”. 

A Senate estimates hearing in June heard from Deputy Secretary Health Resourcing Group Penny Shakespeare who said “there has been a lot of work with the [insurance] sector to develop a product that will allow that exemption to cease so that there is affordable indemnity insurance available for midwives delivering low-risk home birth”. 

“We want to stop continuing that exemption,” she said. 

The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) has welcomed the latest extension as has Homebirth Australia. 

“We are pleased that the Government has been proactive in announcing this extension well before the expiration date and we are sure that this will be a comfort to [privately practising midwives] and to women who are currently pregnant or planning to be within the next 12 months,” Homebirth Australia says. 

“We are hopeful that the new Albanese Government will honour the commitment from the previous Government to include Homebirth Australia in the consultation process when a potential insurance product is found, to ensure all homebirthing women have coverage, as they do for facility-based births and publicly funded homebirth programs.” 

The latest exemption runs until June 30 2025.