Insurance & compliance
$20 million public liability, product liability on every line stocked, certificates of currency before install — and a plain answer on exactly what 'free' covers.
Two questions decide whether a free vending machine gets approved: who carries the risk, and what gets invoiced later. Procurement asks the first, finance asks the second, and vague answers to either one kill the project. This section answers both in writing. We carry $20 million public liability plus product liability, the machine stays our asset on our policy, and certificates of currency are issued before anything lands on your floor. On cost: there is no rental, no delivery fee, no installation fee, no service fee, no insurance charge and no removal fee. You supply power, floor space and access. Nothing else changes hands.
What we carry
Public liability
$20 million
Covers third-party personal injury and property damage arising from the machine and from our people while they are on your site.
Product liability
Included
Covers the goods sold from the machine. Everything stocked is commercially packaged, in-date and sourced through mainstream Australian distribution.
The machine itself
Our asset, our cover
The unit remains our property and is insured by us. You are not asked to schedule it on your policy or accept liability for it.
Workers compensation
Held by us
Our technicians are covered under our own workers compensation policy in the state they attend.
Certificate of currency
On request, before install
Issued as a PDF naming the insurer, policy number, limit and period. Accepted by government, health, defence and tier-one construction procurement.
| Line item | Your cost |
|---|---|
| The vending machine | $0 |
| Delivery and freight to your site | $0 |
| Installation, commissioning and positioning | $0 |
| All stock and restocking visits | $0 |
| Servicing, repairs and parts | $0 |
| Cashless payment hardware and merchant fees | $0 |
| Public liability and product insurance | $0 |
| Removal if you no longer want the machine | $0 |
What you provide
No rental, no minimum spend, no sales guarantee and no invoice — ever.
Seven of Australia's nine jurisdictions operate under the harmonised Work Health and Safety Act; Victoria runs the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and Western Australia the Work Health and Safety Act 2020. In every case we attend as a supplier with our own safe work procedures, our own workers compensation cover and our own inducted technicians, so your WHS obligations are the ordinary ones you already meet for any visiting contractor.
Everything stocked is commercially packaged and labelled to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, with date-marked stock rotated on every visit. We do not decant, repack or prepare food on your premises, so a vending placement does not change your own food-business status.
Machines are supplied with compliant leads and RCM-marked equipment, and are tested and tagged in line with AS/NZS 3760 where your site or industry requires it — construction and resource sites in particular.
No coin mechanism, no float and no cash held on site. That removes the cash-handling risk, the overnight theft target and the reconciliation task that traditional machines create for your team.
General information for procurement and facilities teams, not legal advice. Legislation is named so your WHS or compliance officer can verify it directly.
Documentation
Tell us the site and we will email the certificate of currency and the one-page placement agreement before we book a site check. No obligation, no cost, and nothing installed until your documentation is satisfied.
Request the documentationNew South Wales
What NSW procurement and WHS teams need on file before a machine is installed — and confirmation that nothing is invoiced afterwards.
Victoria
Victoria runs its own occupational health and safety framework. Here's how a free machine fits it, and what your procurement file will contain.
Queensland
Queensland has the strictest electrical testing expectations in the country and the highest vending demand. Here's the documentation that clears both.
Western Australia
Resource-sector onboarding sets the bar in WA. Our documentation package is built to clear it before the first site visit.
South Australia
Defence, health and advanced manufacturing dominate SA procurement — and all three want the paperwork before the conversation.
Australian Capital Territory
Canberra runs on federal procurement rules. Our documentation is written for the person who has to file it.
Tasmania
Small state, serious sites — Bell Bay, health services and food production all want the documentation before the machine.
Northern Territory
Defence, remote operations and extreme heat — the Territory's three constraints, handled in writing before install.
FAQ
All eight — New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and the Northern Territory — including major regional centres in each.
Regularly. Cashless-only hardware with no cash on site, outbound-only telemetry, inducted technicians and full insurance documentation is the configuration that clears government, health and defence-adjacent approval processes.
$20 million. The policy covers third-party personal injury and property damage arising from the machine and from our technicians while they are working on your premises. Product liability on everything stocked is carried alongside it.
Yes, on request and before the machine is installed. The certificate is a PDF naming the insurer, the policy number, the limit of indemnity and the period of cover — the standard document a procurement or WHS officer needs for a supplier file.
No. The machine is our asset and stays on our policy. You are not asked to schedule it, note our interest, or extend your own cover in any way. Most sites simply file our certificate of currency and move on.
Liability for the machine itself sits with us as owner and operator, backed by the $20 million policy. Ordinary occupier duties for your premises stay with you, exactly as they would for any other equipment or supplier on site — nothing about this arrangement shifts additional risk onto your business.
Yes. There is no rental, delivery, installation, restocking, service, insurance or removal charge, and no minimum spend or sales guarantee to meet. The model is funded by the margin on products staff buy. You are never sent an invoice.
A one-page site placement agreement covering power, access and positioning. No minimum term, no lock-in, no exit fee. Either side can end it with reasonable notice and we collect the machine at our cost.
Experience you can check
Written and maintained by Dan Barnes — owner-operator, Free Vending Machines Australia
I have been placing and servicing vending equipment in Australian workplaces for over two decades — offices, warehouses, gyms, hospitals, schools, remote camps and government sites. Everything on this page reflects how we actually run installs across every state and territory: the machines we physically stock, the lead times our crews hold to, and the service standard we carry at our own cost. Nothing here is licensed boilerplate.
1. Two-question request
You tell us the workplace type and rough head count. No paperwork, no credit check, no sales visit required to get an answer.
2. Site check within 24 hours
We confirm head count, foot traffic, power location and access (lifts, stairs, loading dock, after-hours security) and pick the right machine.
3. Delivery and install
Our crew delivers, levels and commissions the machine, tests the cashless reader end-to-end and takes the packaging away. Nothing is invoiced.
4. Telemetry goes live
Every vend, temperature reading and fault code streams back to us. Low stock is flagged 2–3 days before a row empties.
5. Ongoing service, still $0
Restocks, cleaning, repairs, parts, product-mix changes and $20m public liability are all carried by us. Ask us to remove it and we do — no exit fee.
These are our three workhorse combination machines — photographed as they leave our workshop, stocked with the Australian brands your team actually buys. We recommend one based on your head count and floor space, never on what happens to be in the truck.
CV3 combo — slimline snack & drink
890mm wide · 1830mm high · 830mm deep
CV4 combo — mid-size with priced shelf labels
1000mm wide · 1830mm high · 830mm deep
CV5 combo — high-capacity site machine
1200mm wide · 1830mm high · 880mm deep
Proof
Office · Barangaroo, NSW
Booking the dock and getting building management to approve a vendor is usually painful. This crew handled all of it — the machine appeared, plugged in, and the staff just started using it.
Read the write-upWarehouse · Truganina, VIC
Night shift was tapping vending machines in the servo across the road. Now they don't leave the site. It's paid for itself in productivity in the first month — and we paid nothing for it.
Read the write-upGym · Fortitude Valley, QLD
I'd been quoted $8k for a machine that I'd have to stock and fix. This one turned up free, gets stocked automatically, and I get a monthly line item as revenue not a cost. No brainer.
Read the write-up
Proof
Office · Barangaroo, NSW
Booking the dock and getting building management to approve a vendor is usually painful. This crew handled all of it — the machine appeared, plugged in, and the staff just started using it.
Read the case studiesFree download
What "free" actually covers, how sites are assessed, the insurance and compliance paperwork your facilities team will ask for, and the questions to put to any operator before you sign anything.
Get the guideTwo quick questions and you're on your way. No contract lock-ins, no hidden fees.