Income Protection for Tradies

Back to top

How can income protection help tradies?

How does income protection for tradies work?

What exclusions and loadings apply to income protection for tradies?

What’s the average cost of income protection for tradies?

How do I choose income protection insurance for tradies?

Is it worth getting income protection for tradies?

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find and compare income protection?

Long story short

Income protection pays a percentage of your income if you can’t work due to an injury or illness

It doesn’t matter whether that injury or illness came about on the job or not.

Policy premiums can vary based on lots of factors, like your age and job

Higher-risk jobs might have fewer insurance options or come with higher premiums, while younger, healthier people could have cheaper premiums.

Income protection can work alongside workers’ compensation schemes or be an alternative

Income protection can be additional peace of mind on top of workers’ compensation, provide an alternative for contractors, or be an option for cover even when you’re not at work.

Before you start reading …

This page focuses on construction tradespeople, like chippies, brickies, and sparkies. But the information here might be useful for tradespeople in other industries, too, particularly if the skills you use to pay the bills include manual work and you aren’t covered by a workers’ compensation scheme.

How can income protection help tradies?

Have you ever considered how you’d cover your bills and expenses if you were to get hurt on a building site, at the workshop, or on your way to the next job? Income protection covers you if you’re unable to work for an extended period due to illness or injury.

While you might think it could never happen to you, the stats paint a different story.

In 2023–24, labourers made serious workers’ compensation claims at a higher frequency than any other major occupation group. Technicians and tradespeople weren’t all that far behind, coming in at number four and still above the average for all occupations.¹Safe Work Australia – Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025, p20 For both groups, traumatic joint or muscle injuries were the most common reason for a claim (and a fair reason to take a break to rest and recover!).²Safe Work Australia – Workers’ compensation injury frequency rates

Importantly, income protection covers more than accidents at work. So, if a mishap on that camping trip or at a casual weekend footy game leaves you ill or injured and unable to work for a time, your policy could also cover you then.

Ultimately, if you’re responsible for supporting your family and paying the bills, income protection insurance can take some of the financial pressure off your shoulders so you can focus on getting better.

How does income protection for tradies work?

With an income protection policy, you receive a monthly benefit – usually up to 70% of your pre-tax income – if you’re not able to work for an extended period due to illness or injury.

When you take out an income protection policy, you can usually make a few tweaks to the policy. For example, you can choose the benefit period, as well as the length of the waiting period.

The benefit period is the length of time you’ll receive monthly payments while you’re unable to work due to your illness or injury. For most income protection policies, you’ll find benefit periods of two or five years, or otherwise up to a specific age, like 65 (when you’re hopefully clocking off work for good).

The waiting period is the time your injury or illness needs to stop you from working before any payments start. For most income protection policies, this varies from 14 days up to two years.

What exclusions and loadings apply to income protection for tradies?

From working with electricity to scaling new (literal) heights, being a tradie comes with unique risks that your average office worker doesn’t have to worry about. As a result, your income protection policy might come with a few exclusions or loadings based on the risks in your job.

Existing or old injuries can also affect your policy. For example, some insurers may exclude back injuries if you’ve previously had this type of injury and treated it.

So just don’t tell them, right? Wrong. You’ll need to resist the temptation to have a momentary mind-blank, since your cover and ability to claim could be at risk if the truth comes out.

And if an insurer doesn’t ask about your medical history at all during the application process, it could mean that their policy has either narrower policy definitions or more exclusions. Doing so could be their way of minimising risk in their pool.

Helpful tip

Taking out cover sooner rather than later could help you avoid some of those injury-related exclusions.

And even if you missed your window to take out cover when your medical history was as short as a pair of footy shorts in the 70s, there’s no time like the present. While you mightn’t be able to get cover for another back injury, you could still be covered for plenty of other injuries or illnesses.

Adrian Bennett

General Manager for General Insurance

What’s the average cost of income protection for tradies?

The average cost of income protection insurance – whether you’re a tradie or not – depends on a range of factors beyond your job, like your age, gender, and whether a smoko is still an actual smoke break for you.

While there’s no way to get a concrete figure without doing your own quote, we’ve pulled together a table to give you an idea of what your monthly premium could be based on some of those key factors.

How much could income protection cost for different tradies?

Note: These are indicative examples only based on specific scenarios. Figures provided by Lifebroker for monthly variable age-stepped premiums based on the lowest available premium from a range of plans and providers, and rounded to the nearest whole dollar. They all assume the individual is 35 years old and does not smoke. These were calculated on 3 December 2025. Your premium may vary based on your individual circumstances and is subject to insurer eligibility and underwriting criteria.

How do I choose income protection insurance for tradies?

When it comes to choosing income protection insurance, it’s worth considering whether and how your policy is underwritten. Underwriting is the process insurers use to evaluate the risk of insuring someone. It then determines the terms and pricing of your insurance policy.

As part of the application process, you’ll often have to answer a range of questions to assess your individual risk, including:

• age
• occupation
• financial information
• family medical history and personal health
• lifestyle factors
• high-risk hobbies.

With fully medically underwritten cover, your insurer will assess you for any current and pre-existing medical conditions when you sign up for the policy, instead of when you make a claim. That way, your cover is tailored to your individual circumstances.

Some insurance providers offer income protection policies without underwriting. While this might make it easier to take out cover, these policies could include broader exclusions and higher premiums than underwritten policies.

Ultimately, insurers tend to offer different definitions and benefits for income protection cover, so it’s important to compare policies based on benefits and features, as well as price, before making your final pick.

Is it worth getting income protection for tradies?

It’s up to you to make that call, but we can certainly give you some food for thought.

Pros

It can be an alternative or addition to workers’ compensation schemes

Being a contractor can come with some great benefits, like picking your jobs and having more control over when you take a holiday. But it can also mean missing out on the safety net of workers’ compensation. Income protection could help fill that gap.

It could help cover important recovery costs

Income protection, as the name suggests, is about ensuring you have some income while you can’t work. While this money can be used to cover everyday expenses, it could also help cover medical and rehabilitation costs, too. Your income protection policy might even give you access to rehabilitation programs to support a successful recovery and return to work.

Cons

High-risk work might not be covered or come with higher fees

Each insurer might have its own approach to covering high-risk work. This could include working at a height greater than 20 metres or using explosives, for instance. One insurer might flat out not cover these jobs, while another could offer cover but with a more expensive premium and/or additional loading.

Tradies might have a lower max monthly benefit amount

Often insurers categorise occupations into groups, taking into account the kind of work, skills, and risks involved. Each category has a different maximum monthly benefit for income protection. Depending on the insurer, certain tradies might fall into categories with smaller maximum monthly benefits.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I find and compare income protection?

We get it if a trip to Bunnings or an afternoon with your mates is far more appealing than looking for an income protection policy. But having cover can make it easier to enjoy the things you love in life, even if you find yourself unable to work for a time. That’s why we’ve partnered with Lifebroker to make comparing income protection insurance options from a range of providers simple. So, start comparing with the online comparison tool, and get this job done and dusted faster.