Claims, coverage and case law

Insights / Australia

Australia's Shifting Casualty Landscape

Australia 2 min read

Australian liability litigation is moving well beyond traditional shareholder claims. Claim numbers are not necessarily rising, but severity, defence costs and aggregation uncertainty are.

PFAS: the leading long-tail concern

Earlier Australian PFAS class actions over contamination near defence sites settled for property value, economic loss and cultural impacts, but not personal injury, which leaves a potentially significant exposure untested. The focus is now moving to manufacturers. On 28 May 2026 the Commonwealth commenced proceedings against 3M seeking more than AUD 2bn over firefighting foam contamination at defence bases, the largest claim of its kind it has brought.

For claims: expect questions over which policy years are triggered, how long-tail exposure is allocated, and whether pollution exclusions respond.

Concussion: a systemic exposure

The AFL concussion class action, led by former player Max Rooke, now includes more than 100 former players and is expected to go to trial in 2027. The allegations are directed at the league, clubs and club doctors together, which raises contribution and allocation issues between defendants and their insurers, and questions over the trigger of cover across many years.

Shareholder class actions are back

The Brambles proceeding became the first Australian shareholder class action to succeed at trial, and the Full Federal Court's decision in the Worley appeal supported a similar approach to proving loss. Together they shift the balance towards claimants and are likely to increase filings and settlement values for listed companies and their D&O insurers.

Implications for the market

  • Defence costs in complex Australian proceedings can erode primary limits quickly, bringing excess and reinsurance layers into play even where claim numbers are low.
  • Aggregation across PFAS and concussion claims will turn on policy wording, trigger and the number of occurrences.
  • D&O pricing and reserving should reflect a less defendant-friendly environment following Brambles and Worley.

Sources: Australian Minister for Defence, proceedings against 3M (28 May 2026) · Law Society Journal · AAP, AFL concussion class action · Ashurst, Brambles decision · King & Wood Mallesons, Worley appeal