Reporting incidents into EMER, or participating in the EMER project, are activities protected by the Australian Government's Commonwealth Qualified Privilege Scheme.

Qualified Privilege is a legal provision that aims to improve patient safety and the quality of health care by promoting and encouraging health professionals to participate in quality reporting activities. It encourages a culture of learning from clinical incidents and adverse events by protecting those taking part in the activities from civil liability and legal action.

This scheme is also important for health professionals, as it allows them to participate in incident reporting activities without the risk of their information (such as the involvement in undesirable clinical outcomes) being made public, helping to protect their professional reputation.

EMER was first declared as a Quality Assurance Activity by the Minister for Health and Ageing in September 2012. This coverage was renewed in December 2018, and subsequently expired in December 2023.

A further renewal has now been approved for a five-year period from January 2026 to January 2031. This declaration provides qualified privilege protection across the full scope of EMER’s incident management process — from initial event reporting through to dissemination of findings.

More information is available from:

• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Qualified Privilege Scheme, Qualified Privilege Scheme 
• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Qualified Privilege Scheme, Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth), Part VC 
• Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Qualified Privilege Scheme, Health Insurance Regulations 2018 (Cth), Part 10