Arabic version: تكاليف الإهمال الطبي في ACT تتجاوز 60 مليون دولار
According to ABC News, the ACT Insurance Authority paid $60.7 million in damages, settlements and legal costs for medical negligence claims in the last financial year, as legal action against the territory government continued to cost tens of millions of dollars.
The medical negligence total was more than double the roughly $28.6 million paid in 2023-24. In 2024-25, the territory paid more than $39 million for the same category of costs.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson said the increase was concerning for both medical and budgetary reasons. He said some lawsuits would be unavoidable, but called for the ACT government to investigate the effect of its growing legal bill on territory finances and to reduce community harm.
Footpath-related personal injury claims cost ACTIA nearly $2.8 million in the last financial year, up from about $1.72 million in 2024-25 and just over $1 million in 2023-24. The government spent nearly $7.2 million on footpath maintenance and repairs in 2025-26, meaning injury-claim payouts were 38 per cent of that maintenance spending.
Health Minister Marisa Paterson said the figures were “really crude numbers” that did not explain the full situation. She said the government had been settling matters more promptly, managing historical cases and dealing with a couple of large settlements. Paterson said the government reviewed causes and sought continuous improvement following such cases.
