Appendix C: Statement of Risks (continued)
Contingent liabilities — unquantifiable
Agriculture and Water Resources
Compensation claims arising from suspension of livestock exports to Indonesia
Proceedings have commenced in the Federal Court of Australia seeking compensation for alleged losses due to the temporary suspension of exports of live animals to Indonesia that was put in place on 7 June 2011.
The final quantum of any damages sought cannot be predicted. The Department of Finance, which has responsibility for Comcover (the Australian Government's general insurance fund), has assumed responsibility for the potential claims under its insurance arrangements with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Defence
Non‑remote contingent liabilities
The Department of Defence has 25 instances of unquantifiable non‑remote contingent liabilities.
Immigration and Border Protection
Immigration detention services by State and Territory governments — liability limit
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has negotiated arrangements with a number of State and Territory governments for the provision of various services (including health, education, corrections and policing services) to immigration detention facilities and people in immigration detention. Some jurisdictions sought indemnification by the Australian Government for the provision of those services. These agreements, as listed below, contain unquantifiable indemnities relating to any damage or loss incurred by State and Territory governments arising out of, or incidental to, the provision of services under the proposed agreements.
| Service streams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jurisdictions | Health | Education | Corrections | Police |
| WA | $5 million per claim or event | Uncapped liability | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event |
| NSW | N/A | $5 million per claim or event | Uncapped liability | $5 million per claim or event |
| Vic | Uncapped liability | Uncapped liability | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event |
| Qld/Tas/ACT/NT | N/A | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event |
| SA | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event | $5 million per claim or event |
Garrison and welfare services at Regional Processing Countries contract — liability limit
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) entered into a contract with Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Limited (Transfield), which commenced on 24 March 2014, for the provision of garrison and welfare services at Regional Processing Countries on behalf of the Australian Government. The contract terms limit Transfield's liability to DIBP to a maximum of any insurance proceeds recovered by Transfield up to a value of $50 million.
Infrastructure and Regional Development
Aviation Rescue & Fire Fighting potential Polyfluorinated Chemical Contamination
Airservices Australia has identified a number of sites around the country that potentially have been contaminated with polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC) that were contained in firefighting foams. The foams containing these chemicals were widely used internationally and were used by Airservices Australia from 1980 until 2010. The identified contaminants do not breakdown in the natural environment. Testing and assessment of the fire training grounds commenced in 2008‑09 with some additional site assessments conducted in the years following. The amount for potential long‑term remediation costs cannot be quantified at this time.
Social Services
National Disability Insurance Scheme
In bilateral negotiations, the Australian Government has committed to provide temporary, untied financial assistance to some jurisdictions that expect to have their GST entitlements adversely affected during the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
Under this commitment, the expected liability will depend on a range of factors including when participating jurisdictions reach full scheme, whether Western Australia signs up to full scheme after the evaluation of the comparative trials has been considered by governments, and any impact resulting from the Commonwealth Grants Commission's treatment of the NDIS. Any impact on the Australian Government is not expected to occur before 2016‑17.