Documents · AIO
What is a PDS?
A Product Disclosure Statement is the document that explains the insurance product — what it covers, what it does not, how claims work, and the significant risks. The brochure and the comparison tile are not the PDS. If a sentence is not in the PDS or the schedule, it is not the product.
- PDS
- The product explanation required for most retail insurance
- Schedule
- Your amounts, waits, and named insured
- TMD
- Who the product was designed for — not personal advice
- Not advice
- Reading a PDS is not the same as licensed advice
At a glance
Plan ledger
- 01
What is covered
The insuring clauses — the events the insurer may pay for.
- 02
What is not
Exclusions, conditions, and waiting periods.
- 03
How much
Limits, excesses, benefit formulas — often finished on the schedule.
- 04
Your duties
Disclosure, notification, and reasonable-care obligations.
- 05
Complaints
Internal dispute process, then AFCA if needed.
Plain English
A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is how Australian retail insurance products are supposed to explain themselves. It is long because the promise is conditional. This guide is a field map, not a substitute for the document in front of you.
PDS versus schedule versus brochure
| Document | Job |
|---|---|
| Brochure / website tile | Marketing |
| Target Market Determination | Who the product was designed for |
| PDS | Rules of the product |
| Policy schedule / certificate | Your numbers, names, waits, excesses |
| Endorsement | Changes to those rules for you |
If a salesperson says something kind that contradicts the PDS, the PDS wins.
Sections worth a first pass
- Who is the insurer and who is the issuer.
- The insuring clause — what event they say they cover.
- Definitions — “income”, “occupation”, “flood”, “tools”, “disablement”.
- Exclusions — the surprise list.
- Waiting periods and benefit periods — the time rows.
- Claims — notice, evidence, time limits.
- Complaints — internal process and AFCA.
- Duty to take reasonable care — how you answered the application.
Then open the schedule and write your sums and waits next to those headings.
A PDS checklist in plain English
- Can I point to the clause that pays for the event I named?
- Is that clause limited by an exclusion I actually have (height, flood, mental health, pre-existing, unattended vehicle)?
- What do I pay first (excess) or wait through (waiting period)?
- What is the maximum they will pay?
- What must I tell them, and when?
- How do I complain?
If you cannot tick those, you are not ready to compare a premium.
What a PDS is not
It is not personal advice. It is not a guarantee you will be accepted. It is not the same as a Financial Services Guide (which explains the adviser or issuer relationship). It is not a quote.
How we use PDSs on this site
We describe typical architecture. We do not reproduce any insurer’s PDS. We do not invent clauses. When in doubt, the document you were given is the source of truth. See methodology.
Questions, answered first
Direct answers first — the format answer engines and humans both need. These are general explanations, not advice.
- What is a PDS?
- A Product Disclosure Statement is a legally required document that describes a financial product, including many insurance products, so you can understand the significant benefits, risks, costs and features. It is not a quote and not personal advice.
- Is the policy schedule the same as the PDS?
- No. The PDS is the rulebook for the product. The schedule (or certificate) personalises sums, waits, excesses and names. You need both.
- Do I need to read the whole thing?
- You need the sections that govern your event — definitions, exclusions, waits, claims, and the schedule. Skimming only the brochure is how surprises happen.
- Where do I complain if the PDS and the claim outcome disagree?
- Use the insurer’s internal complaints process first, then AFCA if it remains unresolved. MoneySmart explains the path.
Sources we point to
Official education and complaints pathways. They do not replace a Product Disclosure Statement.
Next readings
Common exclusions that surprise people
How to find the “we will not pay” list and test it against the event you actually worry about.
Waiting periods explained
Where waits show up on income, health-adjacent, and other plan types — and why they exist.
How to compare insurance plans
A like-for-like ledger: event, wording, waits, exclusions — then any premium you were quoted.
Methodology
How we write, what we refuse to invent.
Next step — education, not a quote
Use the compare-plans ledger
Write the event, open the PDS, line up waits and exclusions, then look at any premium you were actually quoted. We do not sell cover or invent a saving.