The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government convened a Citizens' Jury to address the issue of compulsory third party insurance for drivers. The jury worked alongside a stakeholder panel to identify a new model of insurance for the ACT.
Problems and Purpose
Compulsory Third Party Insurance (CTP) provides compensation for those injured in vehicle accidents. This is mandatory in Australia. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the system for CTP insurance was costly and complicated.
The ACT government chose to put the issue to a citizens’ jury to come up with an improved model of CTP. The jury was tasked with considering the range of related issues and different possible systems for CTP. Prior to the process commencing, the government committed to implementing the jury’s chosen model; this is a significant prior commitment for a deliberative mini-public [1].
Background History and Context
CTP Insurance is a complex issue that is low on most people’s radar until it unfortunately becomes relevant in case of an accident. The ACT government’s YourSay page for the project provides a useful outline of the problems with the existing scheme:
“CTP insurance in the ACT currently only provides compensation to a person who is injured in a motor vehicle accident if someone else is found to be at fault...If you are in an accident that is found to be your fault, you cannot claim compensation for your own injuries under the scheme. If you are in an accident that wasn’t anyone’s fault (a ‘blameless accident’), such as a collision with wildlife, you also cannot claim compensation under the scheme. This means that many Canberrans are left without coverage when they are injured in a car accident because there is no-one else considered to be at fault.” [2]
A citizens’ jury was chosen to consider the issue because the ACT government wanted any new scheme to reflect the priorities of Canberrans, but was aware that understanding of CTP insurance is low, so a standard feedback process such as a survey would be of little use. Thus it was decided to run a jury where a representative group could be equipped with all the relevant knowledge to choose a new model [3].
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The citizens’ jury was convened by the ACT government and designed and delivered by democracyCo.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The jury of 50 people were selected through a process of random stratification to reflect Canberra’s demographics [4].
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Prior to the jury, the government undertook a broader consultation process which included online and telephone surveys, to gather priorities for any new CTP scheme. The results of this were fed into the jury’s process [5].
The jury then took place in three distinct phases. In the first phase, they were asked to produce a list of objectives by which any new CTP scheme should be guided. The jury met four times over two weekends in October 2017. To assist with deliberations, the jury heard from a range of experts and other witnesses, including people who had been affected by CTP, and considered the feedback already gathered from the Canberran community. Experts and witnesses were identified by the jury with support from a Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG), some of whom also participated as witnesses. Jurors also used BaseCamp to continue discussions online and to access and share relevant documents.
The jury’s report recognises that some of the issues and objectives discussed were contentious and the group did not reach consensus on some of them. Instead, the objectives were prioritised from 1 to 10 in a poll, as below:
“Values: 1 being a very low priority; 10 being a very high priority.
1. Early access to medical treatment, economic support and rehabilitation services
All jurors approved of this objective | 84% assessed it to be at least an 8/10 priority” [6]
The jury’s report was delivered to the Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG), who were then tasked with developing the jury’s objective into viable CTP models. The SRG were made up of stakeholders, experts and industry representatives. The SRG refined the jury’s priorities into four possible models, with additional input and support from designers and other experts who contributed to the viability of the models such as working out the costings [7]. In the SRG’s report, it is noted that members of the SRG interpreted the jury’s objectives differently at times, and that not all members supported all four final models, nor did they all agree that the models met all the jury’s objectives [8].
The four models were then presented back to the citizens’ jury in March 2018 for a final weekend where they deliberated upon and selected their preferred model for CTP. Their chosen model was selected through a majority ballot [9]. The final report was presented to the ACT government by a delegation from the jury two days after the deliberations [10].
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
Prior to the process, the ACT government gave a commitment that it would implement the jury’s chosen model for CTP insurance. Sure enough, a draft bill was introduced to implement the chosen model to the relevant standing committee in the ACT legislative assembly. The bill and the chosen CTP model went through a round of amendments and improvements which are reported as being ‘in line’ with the jury’s objectives, but also improving the chosen scheme [11]. The final bill passed with further amendments in May 2019.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
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See Also
References
[1] democracyCo (2018). Citizens’ Jury on Compulsory Third Party Insurance: Australian Capital Territory. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/compulsory-third-party-act/
[2] ACT Government (2019). Citizens' jury on Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance: FAQs. Available at: https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/ctp
[3] Ibid.
[4] Citizens’ Jury Report 25th March 2018 Compulsory Third Party Insurance (2018). Citizens’ Jury Report 25th March 2018 Compulsory Third Party Insurance. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/compulsory-third-party-act/
[5] ACT Government (2019). Citizens' jury on Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance. Available at: https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/ctp
[6] Citizens Jury on Compulsory Third Party Insurance Final Report 29th October (2017). Citizens Jury on Compulsory Third Party Insurance Final Report 29th October. Available at: https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.act-yoursay.files/6715/0925/8006/Citizens_Jury_on_CTP_Final_Report_29th_October.pdf
[7] democracyCo (2018). CTP Stakeholder Reference Group Process. Available at: https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/hdp.au.prod.app.act-yoursay.files/1815/2108/8288/Stakeholder_Reference_Group_Process_Overview.pdf
[8] Ibid, p3.
[9] Citizens’ Jury Report 25th March 2018 Compulsory Third Party Insurance (2018). Citizens’ Jury Report 25th March 2018 Compulsory Third Party Insurance. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/compulsory-third-party-act/
[10] ACT Government (2019). Citizens' jury on Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance. Available at: https://www.yoursay.act.gov.au/ctp
[11] Ibid.