On 15 January 2015, Treasurer Joe Hockey declared that the
incident which took place at the Lindt Café in Martin Place
on 15 December 2014 was an act which constituted a "declared
terrorist incident" for the purposes of the Terrorism
Insurance Act 2003 (Cth).
The declaration meant that terrorism exclusions in certain
"eligible insurance contracts"' were of no effect. It
did not mean that all losses in connection with the Sydney Siege
were immediately covered. To be covered, an insured would need to
have held an 'eligible insurance contract' and that
insurance would need to have responded to the losses (disregarding
the terrorism exclusion). If relying on the Terrorism Insurance
Act, an insured's ability to recover would also be subject to
the various exclusions and limitations in the Terrorism Insurance
Act.
