Civil Liability Act 2003
Queensland Civil
Liability Act
2003 Current as at [Not applicable]
Indicative reprint note This is an
unofficial version of a
reprint of this Act that incorporates all proposed
amendments to
the Act included
in the Civil
Liability and
Other Legislation Amendment Bill
2018. This indicative reprint has been prepared for
information only— it is not an authorised reprint of the
Act . Amendments to this Act are also
included in the Civil Liability (Institutional Child
Abuse)
Amendment Bill 2018*. These proposed amendments are not included
in this indicative reprint. The point-in-time
date for this indicative reprint is the introduction date
for the Civil Liability and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2018—15 November 2018. Detailed
information about indicative reprints is available on the
Information page
of the
Queensland legislation website.
©
State of Queensland 2018 This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Queensland Civil Liability
Act 2003 Contents Chapter 1
Part
1 1 2 3
Part
2 4 5 6
7 Part 3 8
Chapter 2 Part 1
Division 1 9
10 Division 2 11
12 Division 3 13
Page Preliminary Introduction Short title . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 7 Commencement . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7 Notes in text . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 8 Application
of Act
Application of
Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Civil liability excluded from Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Act
binds all persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Provisions relating to operation of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Interpretation Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
Civil liability for harm
Breach of duty General standard
of care General principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
Other principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Causation
General principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Onus of proof
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
Assumption of
risk Meaning of
obvious risk
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Contents 14
15 16 Division 4
17 18 19
Division 5 20
21 22 Division 6
23 24 Division 7
25 26 27
Part
2 28 29 30
31 32 32A
32B 32C 32D
32E 32F 32G
32H Persons suffering harm presumed to be
aware of obvious risks . 14 No proactive
duty to warn of obvious risk . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 15 No liability for materialisation of
inherent risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15 Dangerous recreational
activities Application of div 4 . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16 Definitions for div 4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
No
liability for personal injury suffered
from obvious
risks of
dangerous recreational
activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 16 Duty of professionals
Definition for div 5 . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17 Proactive and reactive duty of doctor
to warn of risk . . . . . . . . . . 17
Standard of care for professionals
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Contributory
negligence Standard of care
in relation
to contributory negligence . . . . . . . . 18
Contributory negligence can
defeat claim
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
Enhancement of
public safety Definition for div 7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Protection of
persons performing duties
for entities
to enhance
public safety . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . 19 Protection of prescribed entities
performing duties to enhance public safety . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
Proportionate
liability Application
of pt
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
Definitions for pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
Who
is a concurrent wrongdoer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 22 Proportionate liability for
apportionable claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Onus
of parties to identify all relevant parties
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Contribution not
recoverable from concurrent
wrongdoer .
. . . . . 24
Subsequent actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
Joining non-party
concurrent wrongdoer in the action
. . . . . . . . 25
What
if a concurrent wrongdoer is fraudulent
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
What
if a concurrent wrongdoer intends to cause loss or damage
25
What
if a concurrent wrongdoer is proved to have engaged in misleading or deceptive
conduct under the Fair Trading Act . . . . . . . .
. . . . 25 Liability for contributory negligence
not affected . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Concurrent wrongdoer may seek contribution
from person not a party to the original proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
Page
2
32I 33 Part 2A
Division 1 33A
33B 33C Division 2
33D 33E Division 3
33F 33G 33H
33I Division 4 33J
33K 33L 33M
Division 5 33N
33O 33P 33Q
Part
3 Division 1 34
35 36 37
Division 2 Civil Liability
Act 2003 Contents Part not to
affect other liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 26 Court may give directions
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27 Liability of institutions for child
sexual abuse Preliminary Definitions for
part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 27 Meaning of associated trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
When
is a person associated with an institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Duty of
institutions Duty to prevent
child sexual
abuse .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
Proof of whether duty was breached . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Liability of particular institutions and
office holders Liability of incorporated institution that
was unincorporated at
time of abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30 Liability of current office holder of
unincorporated institution . . . 31
Claim against unincorporated institution and
nomination of appropriate defendant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
Proceeding
against nominee of unincorporated institution . . . . . 33
Satisfaction of
liability Assets available
to satisfy liability of institution . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. 34 Assets available to satisfy liability
of nominee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Assets available to satisfy liability
of current
office holder
. . . . . .
34
Satisfaction of
liability by
trustee of
associated trust . . . . . . . . . . 35
Miscellaneous Entities may
act despite
other laws
and duties
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
Continuity of institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Continuity of offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
Corporations Act
displacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
Liability of
public and
other authorities and
volunteers Public and
other authorities Definitions for
div 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
Principles concerning resources, responsibilities etc.
of public
or other
authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 38 Proceedings against public or other
authorities based on breach of statutory duty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
Restriction on
liability of
public or
other authorities with
functions of
road authorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
Food
donors and volunteers Page 3
Not
authorised
—indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Contents Not
authorised —indicative only
Subdivision 1 38
Subdivision 2 38A
38B 38C Subdivision
3 39
40 41 42
43 44 Part 4
Division 1 45
Division 2 46
47 48 49
Part
5 49A 49B Chapter 3
Part
1 50 51 Part 2
52 Part 2A 52A
52B Interpretation Interpretation .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 40 Food donors Protection of
food donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 41 Liability not excluded if insurance
required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Liability not
excluded for
motor accidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Volunteers Protection of volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Liability not excluded for criminal acts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Liability of intoxicated volunteer not
excluded .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
Liability of volunteer not excluded if acting outside scope
of activities
or contrary to
instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 44 Liability not excluded if insurance
required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Liability not excluded for motor accidents .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Exclusion from claiming damages because of
particular behaviour Criminal behaviour Criminals not
to be
awarded damages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Intoxication Effect of
intoxication on duty and standard of care . . . . . . . . . . .
46
Presumption of
contributory negligence if
person who
suffers harm
is intoxicated . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 47 Presumption of contributory negligence
if person who suffers harm relies on care and
skill of
person known
to be
intoxicated . . . . . . . . . .
48
Additional
presumption for motor vehicle
accident . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Awards for economic loss
following sterilisation procedure or
contraceptive procedure or advice Failed
sterilisation procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
Failed contraceptive procedure or contraceptive advice
. . . . . . . 50
Assessment of damages for personal
injury Preliminary Application of
ch 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
Definitions for ch 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
Exemplary and
similar damages Exemplary,
punitive or
aggravated damages can not be awarded 51
Participants in
national injury insurance
scheme, Queensland Definitions for
part .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Restriction on damages for participants in
insurance scheme . . 52
Page
4
52C Part 3 53
54 55 56
57 58 59
59A 59B 59C
59D 60 61
62 Part 4 63
64 65 66
67 Chapter 4 Part 1
68 69 70
71 72 Part 1A
72A 72B 72C
72D Civil Liability Act 2003
Contents Damages if
insurance agency is liable to contribute . . . . . . . . . .
53 Assessment of damages
Notice requiring mitigation of damages . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Damages for loss of earnings
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55 When earnings can not be precisely
calculated . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56 Damages for loss of superannuation entitlements . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Discount rate for
calculating present value
of future
loss or
gratuitous services . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 56 Damages for loss of consortium or loss
of servitium . . . . . . . . . . 57
Damages for gratuitous services provided to
an injured person . 57 Damages for gratuitous domestic
services provided by an injured person 58
Circumstances in
which section
59A damages
can not
be awarded 60
Provisions for assessment of section 59A
damages . . . . . . . . . . 61
Restriction on damages if section 59A
damages already recovered 62 Interest
. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . 62 Assessment
by court
of injury
scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63
Calculation of
general damages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
Structured settlements Definition for
pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Court required to
inform parties of proposed award
. . . . . . . . . . 65
Court may make consent order
for structured settlement
. . . . . .
65
Obligation of legal practitioners
to provide
advice .
. . . . . . . . . . . 65
Offer of structured settlement—legal
costs .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
Miscellaneous Expressions
of regret Application of pt 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Definition for pt
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
Purpose of pt 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Meaning of
expression of
regret . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Expressions of
regret are
inadmissible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
Apologies Application
of pt
1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
Purpose of pt 1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
Meaning of apology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
Effect of apology on liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Page 5 Not
authorised
—indicative only
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Contents Part 2
73 Part 3 74
75 Chapter 5 Part 1
76 77 Part 2
79 80 Part 3
81 Part 4 82
Part
5 83 Part 6 84
Part
7 85 Part 8 86
Schedule 2 Jury
trials Exclusion of jury trial . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
General Regulation-making power . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Indexation of particular amounts . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Transitional and
other provisions Transitional
provisions for Act No. 16 of 2003
Prescribed entities for ss 26 and 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Jury
trials . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
Transitional provisions for
Justice and
Other Legislation Amendment Act
2004 Food donations . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71 Injuries under the Workers’
Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 71
Transitional provision for
Civil Liability (Dust Diseases)
and Other Legislation Amendment Act
2005 Awards of damages for loss of earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
Declaration about
commencement of chapter 2, part 2 Commencement of ch 2, pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
Transitional provision for Criminal Code and
Civil Liability Amendment Act
2007 Personal injury
to which the amended s 5 extends as a result of the
amendment .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
Transitional provision for
Justice and
Other Legislation Amendment
Act 2008,
part 5
Persons donating food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Transitional
provisions for Civil Liability and
Other Legislation Amendment
Act 2010 Retrospective effect
of section
59A damages
provisions for dust-related claims only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74
Transitional
provision for
Civil Liability and
Other Legislation Amendment
Act 2018 Application of ch 2, pt 2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
Dictionary
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Page
6
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Civil Liability Act 2003 Chapter 1
Preliminary [s 1] An Act to reform
the law of civil liability for negligent acts, and
for
other purposes Not authorised —indicative only
Chapter 1 Preliminary Part 1
Introduction 1
Short
title This Act may be cited as the
Civil Liability Act 2003 .
2 Commencement (1)
Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act
is taken to have commenced on 2 December 2002.
(2) The following provisions commence on
assent— • chapter 2, part 1, division 7, part 3,
division 2 and part 4 • chapter 3, parts
2 and 4 • sections 53, 54 and 56 to 60
• chapter 4, parts 1 and 2
• chapter 5 •
chapter 6 and schedule 1.
(3) Chapter 2,
part 2
commences on
a day to
be fixed by
proclamation. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 7
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 1 Preliminary [s 3]
3 Notes in text A note in the
text of this Act is part of this Act. Not
authorised —indicative only
Part
2 Application of Act 4
Application of Act (1)
Subject to
section 5, this
Act applies to
any civil claim
for damages for harm. (2)
The
following provisions apply only in relation to a breach of
duty
happening on or after 2 December 2002— •
chapter 2, part 1, divisions 1 to 6
• chapter 2, part 3, division 1
• section 55. (3)
Chapter 2, part 2 applies only in relation
to a breach of duty happening on or after the commencement of
this subsection. (4) The following provisions apply in
relation to a breach of duty happening on or
after the day this Act receives assent— •
chapter 2, part 4 •
sections 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60,
72. (5) Chapter 2, part 5 applies only in
relation to a breach of duty happening on or
after the commencement of this subsection. (6)
Sections 64, 65, 66, 67 and 73 apply in
relation to personal injuries damages regardless of when
the injury happened. 5 Civil liability excluded from
Act (1) This Act
does not
apply in
relation to
deciding liability
or awards of damages for personal injury
if the harm resulting from the breach of duty is or
includes— Page 8 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 1 Preliminary [s 5]
Not authorised —indicative only
(a) an injury for which compensation is
payable under the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996
,
other than an injury to which section 36(1)(c) or 37 of
that Act applies; or Example for paragraph (a)—
A
worker employed under a contract of service with a labour
hire
company is injured at the premises of a host employer while
driving a
defective machine.
The worker pursues
claims for
damages for civil liability against the
labour hire company, the host employer and the manufacturer of
the machine. The worker suffers a number of injuries but only
1 of them is accepted as an injury under
the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996
,
section 34. This Act does not apply to any of the claims
for damages. (b) an injury for which compensation is
payable under the Workers’ Compensation and
Rehabilitation Act
2003 ,
other than an injury to which section
34(1)(c) or 35 of that Act applies; or (c)
an
injury that is a dust-related condition; or (d)
an
injury resulting from smoking or other use of tobacco
products or exposure to tobacco
smoke. (2) For subsection (1)(a) or (b), the
following is immaterial— (a) whether
compensation for the injury is actually claimed under the
relevant Workers’ Compensation Act; (b)
whether the entitlement to seek damages for
the injury is regulated under that Act.
(3) Despite subsection (1)(c) and (d),
this Act applies for deciding awards
of section 59A damages
relating to
an injury mentioned in
subsection (1)(c) or (d). (4) To
remove any
doubt, it
is declared that
a breach of
duty mentioned in
subsection (1) includes a breach of duty giving rise to a
dependency claim. (5) In this section— compensation for
injury, under
a relevant Workers’
Compensation Act, includes payment
of— (a) reasonable expenses
for medical treatment
or attendance; and Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 9
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 1 Preliminary [s 6]
(b) funeral expenses. relevant
Workers’ Compensation Act means— (a)
for compensation, or
an entitlement to
seek damages,
for an injury
mentioned in
subsection (1)(a)—the WorkCover
Queensland Act 1996 ; or (b)
for compensation, or
an entitlement to
seek damages,
for an injury
mentioned in
subsection (1)(b)—the Workers’
Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 .
6 Act binds all persons
This Act
binds all
persons including
the State and,
to the extent
the legislative power
of the Parliament permits,
the Commonwealth and the other
States. 7 Provisions relating to operation of
Act (1) Subject to sections 5(3) and 59A, this
Act does not create or confer any cause of civil action for
the recovery of damages. (2) A
provision of
this Act
that gives
protection from
civil liability does
not limit the protection from liability given by
another provision of this Act or by another
Act or law. Note— See, for
example, the following provisions giving protection from
civil liability to particular persons—
• the Forestry Act
1959 , sections 96E, 96F and 96G
• the Marine Parks Act
2004 , section 147 •
the Nature Conservation Act 1992
,
section 142 • the Recreation Areas
Management Act 2006 , section 228. (3)
This
Act, other than chapter 2, part 2 and chapter 3, does not
prevent the
parties to
a contract from
making express
provision for their rights, obligations and
liabilities under the contract (the express
provision ) in relation to any matter to
which this Act applies and does not limit or
otherwise affect the operation of the express
provision. Page 10 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
8] (4) Subsection (3) extends to any
provision of this Act even if the provision
applies to liability in contract. (5)
This
Act is not a codification of the law relating to civil
claims for damages for harm. Not
authorised —indicative only
Part
3 Interpretation 8
Definitions The dictionary
in schedule 2 defines particular words used in this Act.
Chapter 2 Civil liability
for harm Part 1 Breach of
duty Division 1 General standard
of care 9 General principles (1)
A
person does not breach a duty to take precautions against a
risk
of harm unless— (a) the risk was foreseeable (that is, it
is a risk of which the person knew or ought reasonably to
have known); and (b) the risk was not insignificant;
and (c) in the circumstances, a reasonable
person in the position of the person would have taken the
precautions. Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
11
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
10] (2) In deciding
whether a
reasonable person
would have
taken precautions
against a risk of harm, the court is to consider the
following (among other relevant
things)— (a) the probability that the harm would
occur if care were not taken; (b)
the
likely seriousness of the harm; (c)
the burden of
taking precautions to
avoid the
risk of
harm; (d)
the
social utility of the activity that creates the risk of
harm. 10
Other
principles In a proceeding relating
to liability for
breach of
duty happening on or
after 2 December 2002— (a) the burden of
taking precautions to avoid a risk of harm includes
the burden of
taking precautions to
avoid similar
risks of
harm for
which the
person may
be responsible; and (b)
the
fact that a risk of harm could have been avoided by
doing something
in a different
way does not
of itself give rise to or
affect liability for the way in which the thing was done;
and (c) the subsequent taking
of action that
would (had
the action been taken earlier) have
avoided a risk of harm does not of itself give rise to or
affect liability in relation to the risk and
does not of itself constitute an admission of liability in
connection with the risk. Division 2 Causation
11 General principles (1)
A decision that
a breach of
duty caused
particular harm
comprises the following elements—
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12] (a) the breach
of duty was
a necessary condition
of the occurrence of
the harm ( factual causation );
(b) it is
appropriate for
the scope of
the liability of
the person in breach to extend to the harm
so caused ( scope of
liability ). (2) In
deciding in
an exceptional case,
in accordance with
established principles, whether
a breach of
duty—being a
breach of
duty that
is established but
which can
not be established as
satisfying subsection
(1)(a)—should be accepted as
satisfying subsection
(1)(a), the court is
to consider (among
other relevant
things) whether
or not and
why responsibility for
the harm should
be imposed on
the party in breach. (3)
If
it is relevant to deciding factual causation to decide what
the person who suffered harm would have done if
the person who was in breach of the duty had not been so in
breach— (a) the matter is to be decided
subjectively in the light of all relevant
circumstances, subject to paragraph (b); and (b)
any statement made
by the person
after suffering
the harm about
what he
or she would
have done
is inadmissible except
to the extent
(if any) that
the statement is against his or her
interest. (4) For the purpose of deciding the scope
of liability, the court is to consider (among other relevant
things) whether or not and why responsibility for
the harm should
be imposed on
the party who was in breach of the
duty. 12 Onus of proof In deciding
liability for breach of a duty, the plaintiff always
bears the onus of proving, on the balance of
probabilities, any fact relevant to the issue of
causation. Current as at [Not applicable]
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[s
13] Division 3 Assumption of
risk Not authorised —indicative only
13 Meaning of obvious
risk (1) For this division, an
obvious risk to a person who
suffers harm is a risk that, in the circumstances, would
have been obvious to a reasonable person in the position of
that person. (2) Obvious risks
include risks
that are
patent or
a matter of
common knowledge. (3)
A risk of
something occurring
can be an
obvious risk
even though it has a
low probability of occurring. (4)
A
risk can be an obvious risk even if the risk (or a condition
or circumstance that
gives rise
to the risk)
is not prominent, conspicuous or
physically observable. (5) To remove any
doubt, it is declared that a risk from a thing, including a
living thing, is not an obvious risk if the risk is
created because of a failure on the part of
a person to properly operate, maintain, replace, prepare or
care for the thing, unless the failure itself is an obvious
risk. Examples for subsection (5)—
1 A motorised
go-cart that
appears to
be in good
condition may
create a risk to a user of the go-cart that
is not an obvious risk if its frame has been
damaged or cracked in a way that is not obvious.
2 A bungee cord that appears to be in
good condition may create a risk to a user
of the bungee cord that is not an obvious risk if it is
used after
the time the
manufacturer of
the bungee cord
recommends its replacement or it is used in
circumstances contrary to the manufacturer’s
recommendation. 14 Persons suffering harm presumed to be
aware of obvious risks (1)
If,
in an action for damages for breach of duty causing harm, a
defence of
voluntary assumption of
risk is
raised by
the defendant and the risk is an obvious
risk, the plaintiff is taken to have been
aware of the risk unless the plaintiff proves, on
the
balance of probabilities, that he or she was not aware of
the
risk. Page 14 Current as at
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15] Editor’s note— ‘Voluntary
assumption of risk’ is sometimes stated as ‘volenti non fit
injuria’. (2)
For
this section, a person is aware of a risk if the person is
aware of
the type or
kind of
risk, even
if the person
is not aware of the
precise nature, extent or manner of occurrence of
the
risk. 15 No proactive duty to warn of obvious
risk (1) A person ( defendant
)
does not owe a duty to another person (
plaintiff ) to warn of an
obvious risk to the plaintiff. (2)
Subsection (1) does not apply if—
(a) the plaintiff has requested advice or
information about the risk from the defendant; or
(b) the defendant is required by a written
law to warn the plaintiff of the risk; or
(c) the defendant is a professional, other
than a doctor, and the risk is a risk of the death of or
personal injury to the plaintiff from the provision of a
professional service by the defendant. Note—
In
relation to paragraphs (a) and (b), see section 21 for the duty of
a doctor to warn of risk. (3)
Subsection (2) does not give rise to a
presumption of a duty to warn of
a risk in
the circumstances referred
to in that
subsection. (4)
In
this section— a professional has the same
meaning as it has in division 5. 16
No
liability for materialisation of inherent risk (1)
A person is
not liable in
negligence for
harm suffered
by another person as a result of the
materialisation of an inherent risk.
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17] (2) An inherent risk is a risk of
something occurring that can not be avoided by
the exercise of reasonable care and skill. (3)
This section
does not
operate to
exclude liability
in connection with a duty to warn of a
risk. Division 4 Dangerous
recreational activities 17 Application of
div 4 (1) This division applies only in relation
to liability in negligence for harm to a person resulting from a
dangerous recreational activity engaged in by the
plaintiff. (2) This division
does not
limit the
operation of
division 3
in relation to a recreational
activity. 18 Definitions for div 4
In
this division— dangerous recreational activity
means an activity engaged in
for
enjoyment, relaxation or leisure that involves a significant
degree of risk of physical harm to a
person. obvious risk has the same
meaning as it has in division 3. 19
No
liability for personal injury suffered from obvious
risks
of dangerous recreational activities (1)
A person is
not liable in
negligence for
harm suffered
by another person as a result of the
materialisation of an obvious risk
of a dangerous
recreational activity
engaged in
by the person suffering
harm. (2) This section applies whether or not
the person suffering harm was aware of the risk.
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Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
20] Duty of professionals Not
authorised —indicative only
20 Definition for div 5
In
this division— a professional means a person
practising a profession. 21 Proactive and
reactive duty of doctor to warn of risk (1)
A
doctor does not breach a duty owed to a patient to warn of
risk, before the patient undergoes any
medical treatment (or at the time of being given medical
advice) that will involve a risk of personal
injury to the patient, unless the doctor at that time
fails to give or arrange to be given to the
patient the following information about the risk—
(a) information that
a reasonable person
in the patient’s
position would, in the circumstances,
require to enable the person to
make a
reasonably informed
decision about
whether to
undergo the
treatment or
follow the
advice; (b)
information that the doctor knows or ought
reasonably to know the patient wants to be given before
making the decision about
whether to
undergo the
treatment or
follow the advice. (2)
In
this section— patient ,
when used
in a context
of giving or
being given
information, includes a person who has the
responsibility for making a
decision about
the medical treatment
to be undergone by a
patient if the patient is under a legal disability.
Example— the
responsibility a parent has for an infant child 22
Standard of care for professionals
(1) A professional does
not breach a
duty arising
from the
provision of a professional service if it is
established that the Current as at [Not applicable]
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23] professional acted in a way that (at the
time the service was provided) was widely accepted by peer
professional opinion by a significant number of respected
practitioners in the field as competent professional
practice. (2) However, peer professional opinion can
not be relied on for the purposes
of this section
if the court
considers that
the opinion is irrational or contrary to a
written law. (3) The fact
that there
are differing peer
professional opinions
widely accepted
by a significant number
of respected practitioners in
the field concerning a matter does not prevent any 1 or more
(or all) of the opinions being relied on for the
purposes of this section.
(4) Peer professional opinion
does not
have to
be universally accepted to be
considered widely accepted. (5)
This
section does not apply to liability arising in connection
with
the giving of (or the failure to give) a warning, advice or
other information, in relation to the risk
of harm to a person, that is
associated with
the provision by
a professional of
a professional service.
Division 6 Contributory
negligence 23 Standard of care in relation to
contributory negligence (1) The
principles that
are applicable in
deciding whether
a person has breached a duty also apply
in deciding whether the person who
suffered harm
has been guilty
of contributory negligence in
failing to
take precautions against
the risk of
that
harm. (2) For that purpose— (a)
the
standard of care required of the person who suffered
harm
is that of a reasonable person in the position of that
person; and Page 18
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24] (b) the matter
is to be
decided on
the basis of
what that
person knew or ought reasonably to have
known at the time. 24
Contributory negligence can defeat
claim In deciding the extent of a reduction in
damages by reason of contributory negligence, a
court may
decide a
reduction of
100%
if the court considers it just and equitable to do so, with
the
result that the claim for damages is defeated. Division 7
Enhancement of public safety
25 Definition for div 7
In
this division— person in distress includes—
(a) a person who is injured, apparently
injured or at risk of injury; and (b)
a
person who is suffering, or apparently suffering, from
an
illness. 26 Protection of persons performing
duties for entities to enhance public safety
(1) Civil liability does not attach to a
person in relation to an act done or omitted
in the course of rendering first aid or other aid
or
assistance to a person in distress if— (a)
the first aid
or other aid
or assistance is
given by
the person while performing duties to
enhance public safety for an entity prescribed under a
regulation that provides services to enhance public safety;
and (b) the first
aid or other
aid or assistance is
given in
circumstances of emergency; and
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27] (c) the act
is done or
omitted in
good faith
and without reckless
disregard for the safety of the person in distress
or
someone else. (2) Subsection (1) does
not limit or
affect the
Law Reform Act
1995 , part 5.
27 Protection of prescribed entities
performing duties to enhance public safety (1)
Civil liability does not attach to an
entity, prescribed under a regulation, that provides services to
enhance public safety in relation to an act done or omitted in
the course of rendering first aid or other aid or assistance
to a person in distress if— (a)
the first aid
or other aid
or assistance is
given by
the entity while performing duties to
enhance public safety; and (b)
the first aid
or other aid
or assistance is
given in
circumstances of emergency; and
(c) the act
is done or
omitted in
good faith
and without reckless
disregard for the safety of the person in distress
or
someone else. (2) Subsection (1) does
not limit or
affect the
Law Reform Act
1995 , part 5.
Part
2 Proportionate liability 28
Application of pt 2 (1)
This part
applies to
either or
both of
the following claims
( apportionable claim
)— (a) a claim for
economic loss or damage to property in an action for
damages arising from a breach of a duty of care;
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29] (b) a claim for economic loss or damage to
property in an action for damages under the
Fair
Trading Act 1989 for a contravention of
the Australian Consumer
Law (Queensland), section 18.
(2) For this
part, if
more than
1 claim of
a kind mentioned
in subsection (1)(a) or (1)(b) or both
provisions is based on the same loss or damage, the claims must
be treated as a single apportionable claim.
(3) This part does not apply to a
claim— (a) arising out of personal injury;
or (b) by a consumer. (4)
Also, this part does not apply to a claim to
the extent that an Act provides that liability for an amount
payable in relation to the claim is joint and several.
(5) A provision
of this part
that gives
protection from
civil liability does
not limit or otherwise affect any protection from
liability given by any other provision of
this Act or by another Act or law. 29
Definitions for pt 2 In this
part— apportionable claim see section
28(1). consumer means an
individual whose claim is based on rights relating to
goods or services, or both, in circumstances where
the
particular goods or services— (a)
are
being acquired for personal, domestic or household
use
or consumption; or (b) relate to advice given by a
professional to the individual for the
individual’s use, other than for a business carried
on
by the individual whether solely or as a member of a
business partnership. court
, in
relation to a claim for damages, means any court by
or
before which the claim falls to be decided. Current as at
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30] defendant includes any
person joined as a defendant or other party in the
proceeding (except as a plaintiff) whether joined
under this part, under rules of court or
otherwise. 30 Who is a concurrent wrongdoer
(1) A concurrent wrongdoer, in
relation to
a claim, is
a person who is 1 of 2 or
more persons whose acts or omissions caused, independently of
each other,
the loss or
damage that
is the subject of the
claim. (2) For this part, it does not matter that
a concurrent wrongdoer is insolvent, is being wound up, has
ceased to exist or has died. 31
Proportionate liability for apportionable
claims (1) In any proceeding involving an
apportionable claim— (a) the
liability of
a defendant who
is a concurrent wrongdoer
in relation to
the claim is
limited to
an amount reflecting that proportion of
the loss or damage claimed that
the court considers
just and
equitable having
regard to
the extent of
the defendant’s responsibility
for the loss or damage; and (b)
judgment must
not be given
against the
defendant for
more
than that amount in relation to the claim. (2)
If
the proceeding involves both an apportionable claim and a
claim that is not an apportionable
claim— (a) liability for
the apportionable claim,
to the extent
it involves concurrent wrongdoers, is
to be decided
in accordance with this part; and
(b) liability for the other claim, and the
apportionable claim to the extent it is not provided for under
paragraph (a), is to be decided in accordance with the legal
rules, if any, that, apart from this part, are
relevant. (3) In apportioning responsibility between
defendants in
a proceeding the
court may
have regard
to the comparative Page 22
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[s
32] responsibility of any concurrent wrongdoer
who is not a party to the proceeding. (4)
This section
applies to
a proceeding in
relation to
an apportionable claim whether or not all
concurrent wrongdoers are parties to the proceeding.
32 Onus of parties to identify all
relevant parties (1) A person
( claimant )
who makes a
claim to
which this
part applies is to
make the claim against all persons the claimant has reasonable
grounds to believe may be liable for the loss or
damage. (2)
A
concurrent wrongdoer, in relation to a claim involving an
apportionable claim, must give the claimant
any information that the concurrent wrongdoer has—
(a) that is likely to help the claimant to
identify and locate any other person
(not being
a concurrent wrongdoer
known to the claimant) who the concurrent
wrongdoer has reasonable grounds to believe is also a
concurrent wrongdoer in relation to the claim;
and (b) about the
circumstances that
make the
concurrent wrongdoer
believe the
other person
is or may
be a concurrent
wrongdoer in relation to the claim. (3)
The
concurrent wrongdoer must give the information to the
claimant, in
writing, as
soon as
practicable after
becoming aware
of the claim
being made
or of the
information, whichever is the
later. (4) If the claimant fails to comply with
the claimant’s obligations under this section, a court may, on a
concurrent wrongdoer’s application, make orders as it
considers just and equitable in the
circumstances of the case on the following— (a)
apportionment of
damages proven
to have been
claimable; (b)
costs thrown away as a result of the failure
to comply. Current as at [Not applicable]
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32A] (5) If a concurrent wrongdoer fails to
comply with the concurrent wrongdoer’s obligations under
this section,
a court may
on application, if it considers it just
and equitable to do so, make either or both
of the following orders— (a) an
order that
the concurrent wrongdoer
is severally liable for any
award of damages made; (b) an order that
the concurrent wrongdoer pay costs thrown away as a result
of the failure to comply. (6) However if, as a
result of information given by a concurrent wrongdoer
under subsection
(2), the claimant joins
another party to the
proceeding for the claim, and that party is found
not
to be liable to the claimant, the court may make orders
about costs
as it considers
just and
equitable in
the circumstances of the case.
32A Contribution not recoverable from
concurrent wrongdoer Subject to
this part,
a concurrent wrongdoer
against whom
judgment is
given under
this part
in relation to
an apportionable claim—
(a) can not
be required to
contribute to
the damages recovered
or recoverable from
another concurrent wrongdoer for
the apportionable claim, whether or not the damages are
recovered or recoverable in the same proceeding in
which the judgment is given; and (b)
can not be
required to
indemnify the
other concurrent wrongdoer. 32B
Subsequent actions (1)
In relation to
an apportionable claim,
nothing in
this part
prevents a
plaintiff who
has previously recovered
judgment against a
concurrent wrongdoer for an apportionable part of
any
loss or damage from bringing another action against any
other concurrent wrongdoer for that loss or
damage. (2) However, in any proceeding in relation
to the other action, the plaintiff can not recover an amount of
damages that, having Page 24 Current as at
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[s
32C] regard to any damages previously recovered
by the plaintiff in relation to
the loss or
damage, would
result in
the plaintiff receiving
compensation for loss or damage that is greater than
the
loss or damage actually suffered by the plaintiff.
Not authorised —indicative only
32C Joining non-party concurrent wrongdoer
in the action (1) Subject to subsection (2), the court
may give leave for any 1 or more persons who are concurrent
wrongdoers in relation to an apportionable claim
to be joined
as defendants in
a proceeding in relation to that
claim. (2) The court is not to give leave for the
joinder of any person who was a party to any previously
concluded proceeding in relation to the apportionable
claim. 32D What if a concurrent wrongdoer is
fraudulent Despite sections
31 and 32A, a
concurrent wrongdoer
in a proceeding in
relation to an apportionable claim who is found liable
for damages and
against whom
a finding of
fraud is
made
is severally liable for the damages awarded against any
other concurrent wrongdoer to the
apportionable claim. 32E What if a concurrent wrongdoer intends
to cause loss or damage Despite
sections 31 and
32A, a
concurrent wrongdoer
in a proceeding in
relation to an apportionable claim who is found to have intended
to cause the loss or damage suffered, and is found liable for
damages, is severally liable for the damages awarded
against any
other concurrent wrongdoer
to the apportionable
claim. 32F What if a concurrent wrongdoer is
proved to have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct
under the Fair Trading Act Despite
sections 31 and
32A, a
concurrent wrongdoer
in a proceeding in
relation to
an apportionable claim
who Current as at [Not applicable]
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32G] contravenes the
Australian Consumer
Law (Queensland), section 18 is
severally liable for the damages awarded against
any
other concurrent wrongdoer to the apportionable claim.
32G Liability for contributory negligence
not affected In apportioning responsibility as
between concurrent wrongdoers, the
court is
to exclude the
proportion of
the damage or
loss in
relation to
which the
plaintiff is
contributorily negligent under any relevant
law. 32H Concurrent wrongdoer may seek
contribution from person not a party to the original
proceeding Nothing in
this part
prevents a
concurrent wrongdoer
from seeking,
in another proceeding, contribution from
someone else in relation
to the apportionable claim. 32I Part not to
affect other liability Nothing in this part—
(a) prevents a person from being held
vicariously liable for a proportion of
any apportionable claim
for which another person
is liable; or (b) prevents a person from being held
jointly and severally liable for the damages awarded against
another person as agent of the person; or
(c) prevents a partner from being held
jointly and severally liable with
another partner
for that proportion of
an apportionable claim for which the
other partner is liable; or (d)
prevents a court from awarding exemplary or
punitive damages against a defendant in a
proceeding. Page 26 Current as at
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33] 33 Court may give directions
(1) This section applies for the purposes
of this part in relation to a claim for
damages. (2) To the
extent a
matter about
the court’s procedure
is not provided for by
rules of court, the matter may be dealt with by a direction
under subsection (3). (3) On application
by a party, the court may give directions about the way a matter
not dealt with by the rules is to proceed. Part 2A
Liability of institutions for child
sexual abuse Division 1
Preliminary 33A
Definitions for part In this
part— abuse claim means a claim
arising from the sexual abuse of a child by a
person associated with an institution while the child
was under the
care, supervision, control
or authority of
the institution. associated
trust , of an institution, see section 33B.
associated with , an
institution, see section 33C. current office
holder see section 33G(2). head
, of
an institution, means the person who— (a)
is
acknowledged by the institution as its head; or (b)
if paragraph (a)
does not
apply—has overall
responsibility for the institution.
institution —
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33B] (a) means an
entity that
provides an
activity, program
or service of a kind that gives an
opportunity for a person to have contact with a child;
and (b) includes a public sector unit that is
an entity mentioned in paragraph (a); and (c)
does
not include a family. nominee ,
for an institution, means
a person who
is the institution’s
nominee because of a nomination or court order under section
33H. 33B Meaning of associated trust
For this part,
a trust is
an associated trust of
an institution if—
(a) the institution has,
directly or
indirectly, any
of the following
powers— (i) a power to control the application of
income of the trust or the distribution of property of the
trust; (ii) a power to
obtain the beneficial enjoyment of the property or
income of the trust, with or without the consent of
another entity; (iii) a
power to
appoint or
remove a
trustee or
beneficiary of the trust;
(iv) a
power to
determine the
outcome of
any other decision about
the trust’s operations; or (b) a member or
manager of the institution has, under the trust deed for
the trust, a power mentioned in paragraph (a); or
(c) a trustee is accustomed to acting, or
is under a formal or informal obligation to
act, according
to the directions,
instructions or wishes of the institution or a member or
manager of the institution. Page 28
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33C] 33C When is a person associated with an
institution (1) For this
part, the
persons associated with
an institution include—
(a) an officer,
representative, leader,
member, employee,
agent, volunteer or contractor of the
institution; and (b) for an
institution that
is a religious
organisation—a minister
of religion or
religious leader
of the organisation;
and (c) if the
institution has
delegated the
care, supervision, control or
authority over a child to another entity (the delegate
)— (i) if the delegate
is an individual—the delegate; and (ii)
a person who
would be
a person mentioned
in paragraph (a)
or (b) if
the delegate were
the delegating institution; and
(d) a person prescribed by
regulation. (2) To remove
any doubt, it
is declared that
a person is
not a delegate
mentioned in subsection (1)(c) only because a child
protection order is made granting long-term
guardianship of a child to the person. (3)
A
person is not associated with an institution only because
the person is associated with an entity that is
funded or regulated by the institution. Division 2
Duty
of institutions 33D Duty to prevent child sexual
abuse An institution has
a duty to
take all
reasonable steps
to prevent the
sexual abuse
of a child
by a person
associated with
the institution while
the child is
under the
care, supervision,
control or authority of the institution. Current as at
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[s
33E] 33E Proof of whether duty was
breached (1) This section applies if a person
associated with an institution sexually
abuses a
child while
the child is
under the
care, supervision,
control or authority of the institution. (2)
The
institution is taken to have breached its duty under section
33D
unless the institution proves it took all reasonable steps
to
prevent the abuse. (3) In deciding whether the institution
took all reasonable steps to prevent the
abuse, the matters that are relevant include— (a)
the
nature of the institution; and (b)
the resources that
were reasonably available
to the institution;
and (c) the relationship between
the institution and
the child; and
(d) the position in which the institution
placed the person in relation to
the child, including
the extent to
which the
position gave the person—
(i) authority, power or control over the
child; or (ii) an
ability to
achieve intimacy
with the
child or
gain
the child’s trust. Division 3 Liability of
particular institutions and office holders 33F
Liability of incorporated institution that
was unincorporated at time of abuse
(1) This section applies if—
(a) a person (the claimant
)
suffered sexual abuse as a child by
a person associated with
an institution (the
associated person
) while the
claimant was
under the
care, supervision, control or authority of
the institution; and Page 30 Current as at
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[s
33G] (b) the claimant
has or had
a cause of
action against
a person (the former office
holder ) who held an office of authority in the
institution (the relevant office ) when
the cause of
action accrued,
founded on
the former office
holder’s responsibility for
the institution or
for the associated
person; and (c) the institution was
an unincorporated body
when the
cause of action accrued; and
(d) the institution is an incorporated
body; and (e) the claimant is able to maintain an
action on the cause of action, or would be able to maintain an
action on the cause of action if the former office holder
still held the relevant office. (2)
A proceeding for
the claimant’s cause
of action may
be started or continued against the
institution. (3) Any liability that the former office
holder has or would have had in relation to the cause of action
is taken to be a liability of the institution.
33G Liability of current office holder of
unincorporated institution (1)
This
section applies if— (a) a person (the claimant
)
suffered sexual abuse as a child by
a person associated with
an institution (the
associated person
) while the
claimant was
under the
care, supervision, control or authority of
the institution; and (b) the
claimant has
or had a
cause of
action against
a person (the former office
holder ) who held an office of authority in the
institution (the relevant office ) when
the cause of
action accrued,
founded on
the former office
holder’s responsibility for
the institution or
for the associated
person; and (c) the institution was
an unincorporated body
when the
cause of action accrued; and
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[s
33H] (d) the institution is an unincorporated
body; and (e) the former
office holder
no longer holds
the relevant office;
and (f) the claimant would be able to maintain
an action on the cause of action if the former office holder
still held the relevant office. (2)
A proceeding for
the claimant’s cause
of action may
be started or continued against the
current holder of the relevant office
(the current office holder ) in the name of
the office. (3) Any liability that the former office
holder has or would have had in relation to the cause of action
is taken to be a liability of the current office holder.
33H Claim against unincorporated
institution and nomination of appropriate defendant
(1) This section
applies in
relation to
an institution that
is an unincorporated
body. (2) A proceeding for an abuse claim may be
started against the institution. (3)
A notice of
a claim required
to be given
to the institution under
the Personal Injuries
Proceedings Act
2002, section
9(1)
must be given to the head of the institution. (4)
The institution may
nominate a
person, with
the person’s consent, to be
the appropriate defendant for the purposes of an abuse claim
against the institution. (5) Subsection (6)
applies if— (a) at least 120 days have passed since a
proceeding for an abuse claim was started against the
institution; and (b) either— (i)
there is no nominee for the institution;
or (ii) a
court is
satisfied the
institution’s nominee
does not have
sufficient assets to satisfy a liability that may be found
under a decision on the abuse claim. Page 32
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[s
33I] (6) On application by
the claimant, a
court may
order that
the trustee of
an associated trust
of the institution is
the institution’s nominee if the court is
satisfied the order would be appropriate. (7)
A court may
give the
directions and
make the
orders it
considers appropriate for the purpose of
establishing— (a) whether a trust is an associated trust
of the institution; or (b) whether a
nominee of the institution has sufficient assets
to
satisfy a liability that may be found under a decision
on
the abuse claim; or (c) whether it
would be
appropriate to
make an
order in
relation to
an associated trust
of the institution under
subsection (6). 33I
Proceeding against nominee of
unincorporated institution The
following applies
if, under section
33H, there
is a nominee for an
institution— (a) a proceeding for
an abuse claim
may be started
or continued against the nominee;
(b) any liability of the institution under
the court’s decision on the abuse claim is incurred by the
nominee; (c) anything done
by the institution is
taken to
have been
done
by the nominee; (d) a duty or obligation of the
institution in relation to the proceeding is a
duty or obligation of the nominee; (e)
the institution must
continue to
participate in
the proceeding and
a court may
make an
order or
give a
direction relating to the institution as if
it were a person; (f) a court
may make a
substantive finding
in the proceeding
against the institution as if it were a person; Current as at
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[s
33J] (g) the nominee may rely on any defence or
immunity that would be available to the institution as a
defendant in the proceeding if the institution were a
person; (h) any right of the institution to be
indemnified (including under an
insurance policy)
in respect of
damages awarded in an
abuse claim extends to, and indemnifies, the
nominee; (i) if there is more than 1 nominee, the
nominees must file a single defence and proceed as a single
defendant. Division 4 Satisfaction of
liability 33J Assets available to satisfy liability
of institution (1) This section
applies if
an institution has
a liability under
a judgment in, or settlement of, an
abuse claim. (2) The institution may satisfy the
liability out of the assets of the institution and
the assets of
an associated trust
that the
institution uses to carry out its functions
or activities. 33K Assets available to satisfy liability
of nominee (1) This section applies if an
institution’s nominee has a liability under a judgment
in, or settlement of, an abuse claim. (2)
If the nominee
is the trustee
of an associated trust
of the institution, the
nominee may
satisfy the
liability out
of the assets of the
trust and the assets of the institution. (3)
Otherwise, the
nominee may
satisfy the
liability out
of its assets and the
assets of the institution. 33L Assets available
to satisfy liability of current office holder (1)
This
section applies if, under section 33G(3), a current office
holder has a liability under a judgment in,
or settlement of, an abuse claim. Page 34
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[s
33M] (2) The current
office holder
is not personally liable
but may satisfy the
liability out of the assets of the institution and the
assets of an associated trust that the
institution uses to carry out its functions or
activities. Not authorised —indicative only
33M Satisfaction of liability by trustee
of associated trust (1) This section
applies in
relation to
a liability that,
under section 33J, 33K
or 33L, may be satisfied out of the assets of an associated
trust of an institution. (2) The
trustee of
the associated trust
may pay an
amount in
satisfaction of the liability and, for that
purpose, may realise assets of the trust.
(3) The satisfaction of the liability is a
proper expense for which the trustee
may be indemnified out
of the trust
property, irrespective of
any limitation on
any right of
indemnity the
trustee may have. (4)
The liability of
the trustee of
the associated trust
as the institution’s nominee
is limited to
the value of
the trust property.
Division 5 Miscellaneous 33N
Entities may act despite other laws and
duties An institution, an institution’s nominee, a
current office holder or the trustee of an associated trust
of an institution may act under division 4, and the trustee of
an associated trust of an institution may
consent to
being the
institution’s nominee,
despite— (a)
another law; or (b)
the
terms of the associated trust (including a trust for a
charitable purpose); or (c)
a
duty, whether as the current holder of an office in the
institution or as trustee or
otherwise. Current as at [Not applicable]
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[s
33O] 33O Continuity of institutions
(1) For this part, an institution
(the current institution ) is
taken to be the same institution as the
institution that breached its duty
under section
33D or was
an institution mentioned
in section 33F(1)(a)
or 33G(1)(a) (the
old institution )
if it is
substantially the
same as
it was when
the relevant cause
of action accrued, even if—
(a) its name has changed; or
(b) its organisational structure has
changed; or (c) it has become incorporated; or
(d) its functions or activities are
carried out at a different place. (2)
Without limiting subsection (1), the current
institution is taken to be substantially the same as it was
when the relevant cause of action
accrued if
the type of
member, and
its primary purposes or
functions, are substantially the same as they were
at
that time. (3) If there
is no institution that
is the same
institution, or
substantially the
same institution, as
the old institution, a
relevant successor of the old institution is
taken to be the same institution as the old
institution. (4) For subsection (3), an institution
(also the current institution )
is a
relevant successor of the old institution if— (a)
all
or part of the old institution merged into the current
institution; or (b)
all
or part of the old institution merged with 1 or more
other entities to form the current
institution; or (c) the current
institution is
the remainder of
the old institution
after part of the old institution ceased to be part of the old
institution; or (d) in a
case in
which there
is at least
1 institution interposed, over
time, between
the old institution and
the current institution—at least
1 of the
following Page 36
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[s
33P] circumstances applies to each link in the
chain between the old institution and the current
institution— (i) all or
part of
an earlier institution merged
into another
institution; (ii) all or part of
an earlier institution merged with 1 or more other
entities to form another institution; (iii)
an institution is
the remainder of
an earlier institution after
part of
the earlier institution ceased to be
part of the earlier institution; (iv)
an institution as
it is at
a particular time
is substantially the same as it was at an
earlier time; or (e) the current
institution is prescribed by regulation to be the relevant
successor of the old institution. (5)
The
Minister may recommend to the Governor in Council the
making of a regulation under subsection
(4)(e) only if satisfied that— (a)
the
current institution has a relevant connection to the
old
institution; or (b) the head
of the current
institution has
agreed to
the current institution being
the relevant successor
of the old institution
for this section. 33P Continuity of offices
(1) This section applies for the purpose
of section 33G. (2) It is sufficient that an office in the
institution is substantially the same as it
was when the relevant cause of action accrued. (3)
If
there is no current office in the institution that is the same
or substantially the
same as
the relevant office
mentioned in
section 33G(1)(b), the current head of the
institution is taken to be the current office
holder. Current as at [Not applicable]
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[s
33Q] 33Q Corporations Act displacement
Sections 33I
to 33N are
declared to
be Corporations legislation
displacement provisions for the Corporations Act,
section 5G
in relation to
the Corporations legislation generally. Not
authorised —indicative only
Part
3 Liability of public and other
authorities and volunteers
Division 1 Public and other
authorities 34 Definitions for div 1
In
this division— function includes
power. public or other authority
means— (a)
the Crown (within
the meaning of
the Crown Proceedings Act
1980 ); or (b)
a
local government; or (c) any public
authority constituted under an Act. 35
Principles concerning resources,
responsibilities etc. of public or other authorities
The following principles apply
to a proceeding in
deciding whether a public
or other authority has a duty or has breached a duty—
(a) the functions required to be exercised
by the authority are limited by the financial and other
resources that are reasonably available to the authority for
the purpose of exercising the functions;
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[s
36] (b) the general allocation of financial or
other resources by the authority is not open to
challenge; (c) the functions required to be exercised
by the authority are to be decided by reference to the broad
range of its activities (and not merely by reference to
the matter to which the proceeding relates);
(d) the authority
may rely on
evidence of
its compliance with its general
procedures and any applicable standards for the exercise
of its functions as evidence of the proper exercise
of its functions
in the matter
to which the
proceeding relates. 36
Proceedings against public or other
authorities based on breach of statutory duty (1)
This section
applies to
a proceeding that
is based on
an alleged wrongful exercise of or
failure to exercise a function of a public or
other authority. (2) For the purposes of the proceeding, an
act or omission of the authority does
not constitute a
wrongful exercise
or failure unless
the act or
omission was
in the circumstances so
unreasonable that
no public or
other authority
having the
functions of the authority in question could
properly consider the act or omission to be a reasonable
exercise of its functions. 37 Restriction on
liability of public or other authorities with functions of road
authorities (1) A public
or other authority
is not liable
in any legal
proceeding for any failure by the authority
in relation to any function it has as a road authority—
(a) to repair a road or to keep a road in
repair; or (b) to inspect a road for the purpose of
deciding the need to repair the road or to keep the road in
repair. (2) Subsection (1) does
not apply if
at the time
of the alleged
failure the
authority had
actual knowledge
of the particular risk the
materialisation of which resulted in the harm. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 39
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
38] (3) In this section— road
see
the Transport Operations (Road Use
Management) Act 1995 , schedule
4. road authority means the entity
responsible for carrying out any road
work. Not authorised —indicative only
Division 2 Food donors and
volunteers Subdivision 1 Interpretation 38
Interpretation (1)
In
this division— community organisation means
any of the
following that
organises the doing of community work by
volunteers— (a) a corporation; (b)
a
trustee acting in the capacity of trustee; (c)
a
church or other religious group; (d)
a registered political
party as
defined under
the Electoral Act 1992 or the
Commonwealth Electoral Act
1918 (Cwlth);
(e) a public or other authority as defined
under section 34; (f) a parents
and citizens association formed
under the
Education (General Provisions) Act
2006 , chapter 7; (g)
another entity prescribed under a
regulation. community work means work that
is not for private financial gain
and that is
done for
a charitable, benevolent, philanthropic,
sporting, recreational, political, educational or
cultural purpose, and includes making
donations of food if the donations are not for private
financial gain and are done for a charitable, benevolent, philanthropic, sporting,
recreational, political,
educational or cultural purpose. Page 40
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[s
38A] food donor —
(a) means an
entity that,
in good faith
for a charitable, benevolent, philanthropic, sporting,
recreational, political, educational or
cultural purpose,
donates or
distributes food with the intention that the
consumer of the food will not have to pay for the food;
but (b) does not include— (i)
an entity that
directly distributes the
food to
the consumer of the food; or
(ii) a
volunteer. organised includes
directed or supervised. possession includes
control. volunteer means an
individual who— (a) does community work on a voluntary
basis; or (b) donates food
in the circumstances mentioned
in section 39(3). work
includes any activity. (2)
For
the purposes of this division— (a)
community work done by a person under an
order of a court is not to be regarded as work done on
a voluntary basis; and (b)
community work
for which a
person receives
remuneration by way of reimbursement of the
person’s reasonable expenses in doing the work is to
be regarded as work done on a voluntary basis.
Subdivision 2 Food
donors 38A Protection of food donors
(1) A food donor does not incur any civil
liability in relation to any act or omission done or made by
the food donor, when donating or distributing food in the
circumstances mentioned Current as at [Not applicable]
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[s
38B] in subsection (2), giving
rise to
harm resulting
from the
consumption of the food. (2)
The
circumstances are— (a) that the food was safe to consume at
the time it left the food donor’s possession; and
(b) if the food was of a nature that
required it to be handled in a particular way to remain safe to
consume after it left the food
donor’s possession—that the
food donor
informed the
recipient of
the food of
the handling requirements;
and (c) if the
food only
remained safe
to consume for
a particular period
of time after
it left the
food donor’s
possession—that the food donor informed the
recipient of the food of the time limit.
(3) In this section— recipient
, of
the food, means the entity directly receiving the
food
from the food donor. 38B Liability not excluded if insurance
required This subdivision does not confer protection
from liability on a food donor if the liability is a liability
that is required under a written law of the State to be insured
against. 38C Liability not excluded for motor
accidents The protection from liability conferred on a
food donor by this subdivision does not apply if the liability
would, apart from this subdivision, be covered by a CTP
insurance policy under the Motor
Accident Insurance
Act 1994 ,
or be recoverable from the Nominal
Defendant under that Act. Page 42 Current as at
[Not applicable]
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Subdivision 3 Volunteers Civil Liability
Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
39] 39 Protection of volunteers
(1) A volunteer
does not
incur any
personal civil
liability in
relation to any act or omission done or made
by the volunteer in good faith when doing community
work— (a) organised by a community organisation;
or (b) as an office holder of a community
organisation. (2) A person does not incur any personal
civil liability in relation to
any act or
omission done
or made by
the person, when
donating food
in the circumstances mentioned
in subsection (3), giving
rise to
harm resulting
from the
consumption of the food. (3)
The
circumstances are— (a) that the
person donated
the food to
a community organisation— (i)
in good faith
for a charitable, benevolent, philanthropic, sporting,
recreational, political, educational or
cultural purpose; and (ii) with
the intention that
the consumer of
the food would not have
to pay for the food; and (b) that the food
was safe to consume at the time it left the person’s
possession; and (c) if the food was of a nature that
required it to be handled in a particular way to remain safe to
consume after it left the person’s
possession—that the
person informed the
community organisation of the
handling requirements; and
(d) if the
food only
remained safe
to consume for
a particular period
of time after
it left the
person’s possession—that the
person informed
the community organisation of
the time limit. Current as at [Not applicable]
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[s
40] 40 Liability not excluded for criminal
acts This subdivision does
not confer protection from
personal liability on a
volunteer in relation to an act or omission of the
volunteer if it is established (on the
balance of probabilities) that at
the time of
the act or
omission the
volunteer was
engaged in conduct that constitutes an
offence. 41 Liability of intoxicated volunteer not
excluded The protection from
personal liability
conferred on
a volunteer by
this subdivision in
connection with
any community work does not apply if the
volunteer— (a) was intoxicated when doing the work;
and (b) failed to
exercise due
care and
skill when
doing the
work. 42
Liability of volunteer not excluded if
acting outside scope of activities or contrary to
instructions This subdivision does
not confer protection on
a volunteer from personal
liability in relation to an act or omission of a
volunteer if the volunteer knew or ought
reasonably to have known that he or she was acting—
(a) outside the
scope of
the activities authorised by
the community organisation concerned;
or (b) contrary to
instructions given
by the community
organisation. 43
Liability not excluded if insurance
required This subdivision does
not confer protection from
personal liability
on a volunteer
if the liability
is a liability
that the
volunteer is required under a written
law of the State to be insured against. Page 44
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[s
44] 44 Liability not excluded for motor
accidents The protection from
personal liability
conferred on
a volunteer by
this subdivision does
not apply if
the liability would,
apart from
this subdivision, be
covered by
a CTP insurance
policy under
the Motor Accident
Insurance Act
1994 , or be
recoverable from the Nominal Defendant under that Act.
Part
4 Exclusion from claiming damages because
of particular behaviour Division 1
Criminal behaviour 45
Criminals not to be awarded damages
(1) A person does not incur civil
liability if the court is satisfied on the balance
of probabilities that— (a) the breach of
duty from which civil liability would arise, apart from this
section, happened while the person who suffered
harm was
engaged in
conduct that
is an indictable
offence; and (b) the person’s conduct contributed
materially to the risk of the harm. (2)
Despite subsection
(1), the court may
award damages
in a particular case
if satisfied that
in the circumstances of
the case, subsection (1) would operate
harshly and unjustly. (3) If the court
decides to award damages under subsection (2), the court must
assess damages on the basis that the damages to which the
injured person would be entitled, apart from this
section, are to be reduced, on account of
the injured person’s conduct, by 25% or a greater
percentage decided by the court to be
appropriate in the circumstances of the case. Current as at
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[s
46] (4) It does
not matter whether
the person whose
conduct is
alleged to constitute an indictable offence
has been, will be or is or was capable of being proceeded
against or convicted of an indictable offence.
(5) If the person has been dealt with for
the offence, it does not matter whether
the person was
dealt with
on indictment or
summarily. Division 2
Intoxication 46
Effect of intoxication on duty and standard
of care (1) The following principles apply in
relation to the effect that a person’s
intoxication has on the duty and standard of care that
the
person is owed— (a) in deciding
whether a
duty of
care arises,
it is not
relevant to consider the possibility or
likelihood that a person may
be intoxicated or
that a
person who
is intoxicated may
be exposed to
increased risk
because the
person’s capacity
to exercise reasonable care
and skill is impaired as a result of being
intoxicated; (b) a person is not owed a duty of care
merely because the person is intoxicated; (c)
the
fact that a person is or may be intoxicated does not
of
itself increase or otherwise affect the standard of care
owed
to the person. (2) Subsection (1) does not affect a
liability arising out of conduct happening on
licensed premises. (3) In this section— licensed
premises see the Liquor Act
1992 , section 4. Page 46
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[s
47] 47 Presumption of contributory negligence
if person who suffers harm is intoxicated
(1) This section
applies if
a person who
suffered harm
was intoxicated at the time of the breach
of duty giving rise to a claim for damages and contributory
negligence is alleged by the defendant. (2)
Contributory negligence will,
subject to
this section,
be presumed. (3)
The
person may only rebut the presumption by establishing on
the
balance of probabilities— (a) that the
intoxication did not contribute to the breach of
duty; or (b)
that
the intoxication was not self-induced. (4)
Unless the
person rebuts
the presumption of
contributory negligence, the
court must assess damages on the basis that the
damages to
which the
person would
be entitled in
the absence of
contributory negligence are
to be reduced,
on account of
contributory negligence, by
25% or a
greater percentage decided
by the court
to be appropriate in
the circumstances of the case.
(5) If, in
the case of
a motor vehicle
accident, the
person who
suffered harm was the driver of a motor
vehicle involved in the accident and the evidence
establishes— (a) that the
concentration of
alcohol in
the driver’s blood
was
150mg or more of alcohol in 100mL of blood; or (b)
that the
driver was
so much under
the influence of
alcohol or
a drug as
to be incapable
of exercising effective
control of the vehicle; the minimum
reduction prescribed by
subsection (4) is
increased to 50%. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 47
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
48] Not authorised —indicative only
48 Presumption of contributory negligence
if person who suffers harm relies on care and skill of
person known to be intoxicated (1)
This
section applies to a person who suffered harm ( plaintiff
) who— (a)
was
at least 16 years at the time of the breach of duty
giving rise to the harm; and
(b) relied on
the care and
skill of
a person who
was intoxicated at
the time of
the breach of
duty (
defendant ); and
(c) was aware, or ought reasonably to have
been aware, that the defendant was intoxicated.
(2) If the harm suffered by the plaintiff
was caused through the negligence of
the defendant and
the defendant alleges
contributory negligence on
the part of
the plaintiff, contributory negligence will,
subject to
this section,
be presumed. (3)
The
plaintiff may only rebut the presumption if the plaintiff
establishes, on the balance of
probabilities, that— (a) the
defendant’s intoxication did
not contribute to
the breach of duty; or (b)
the
plaintiff could not reasonably be expected to have
avoided relying on the defendant’s care and
skill. (4) Unless the
plaintiff rebuts
the presumption of
contributory negligence, the
court must assess damages on the basis that the
damages to
which the
plaintiff would
be entitled in
the absence of
contributory negligence are
to be reduced,
on account of
contributory negligence, by
25% or a
greater percentage decided
by the court
to be appropriate in
the circumstances of the case.
(5) The common
law defence of
voluntary assumption of
risk does not apply
to a matter to which this section applies. Editor’s
note— ‘Voluntary assumption of risk’ is sometimes
stated as ‘volenti non fit injuria’. Page 48
Current as at [Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 2 Civil liability for harm
[s
49] 49 Additional presumption for motor
vehicle accident (1) This section applies to a plaintiff
and defendant mentioned in section 48. (2)
If— (a) the breach of
duty giving rise to the harm suffered by the plaintiff was a
motor vehicle accident; and (b)
the
plaintiff was a passenger in the motor vehicle; and
(c) the motor vehicle was driven by the
defendant; and (d) either— (i)
the concentration of
alcohol in
the defendant’s blood was 150mg
or more of alcohol in 100mL of blood; or
(ii) the defendant
was so much under the influence of alcohol or a
drug as to be incapable of exercising effective
control of the vehicle; the minimum
reduction prescribed by
section 48(4) is
increased to 50%. (3)
The
plaintiff is taken, for this section, to rely on the care
and skill of the defendant. Part 5
Awards for economic loss following
sterilisation procedure or contraceptive
procedure or advice 49A
Failed sterilisation procedures
(1) This section
applies if,
following a
procedure to
effect the
sterilisation of an individual, the
individual gives birth to, or fathers, a child
because of the breach of duty of a person in advising about,
or performing, the procedure. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 49
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 49B] Examples of
sterilisation procedures— tubal ligation and vasectomy
(2) A court can not award damages for
economic loss arising out of the costs ordinarily associated
with rearing or maintaining a child.
49B Failed contraceptive procedure or
contraceptive advice (1) This section
applies if, following a contraceptive procedure on
an individual or
the giving of
contraceptive advice
to an individual, the
individual gives
birth to,
or fathers, a
child because of the
breach of duty of a person in advising about, or
performing, the procedure or giving the
advice. (2) A court can not award damages for
economic loss arising out of the costs ordinarily associated
with rearing or maintaining a child.
Chapter 3 Assessment of
damages for personal injury Part 1
Preliminary 50
Application of ch 3 Subject to
section 5, this chapter applies only in relation to an
award of personal injury damages.
51 Definitions for ch 3
In
this chapter— general damages means damages
for— (a) pain and suffering; or
Page
50 Current as at [Not applicable]
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 52] (b)
loss
of amenities of life; or (c) loss of
expectation of life; or (d) disfigurement. injury
means personal injury. Not
authorised —indicative only
Part
2 Exemplary and similar damages
52 Exemplary, punitive or aggravated
damages can not be awarded (1)
A court can
not award exemplary, punitive
or aggravated damages in
relation to a claim for personal injury damages.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a
claim for personal injury damages if the act that caused the
personal injury was— (a) an
unlawful intentional act
done with
intent to
cause personal injury;
or (b) an unlawful
sexual assault
or other unlawful
sexual misconduct. Part 2A
Participants in national injury
insurance scheme, Queensland
52A Definitions for part
In
this part— insurance agency
means the
National Injury
Insurance Agency,
Queensland established under
the National Injury
Act. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 51
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 52B] insurance
scheme means
the national injury
insurance scheme,
Queensland established under
the National Injury
Act,
chapter 2. motor accident see the National
Injury Act, section 4(1)(b). National
Injury Act
means the
National Injury
Insurance Scheme
(Queensland) Act 2016 . serious personal
injury see the National Injury Act, schedule
1. 52B Restriction on
damages for participants in insurance scheme
(1) This section applies to the awarding
of damages for personal injury resulting from a motor accident
if the person suffering the injury is, or was, a participant
in the insurance scheme in relation to a serious personal injury
resulting from the motor accident. (2)
A court can
not award damages
in relation to
the person’s treatment, care
and support needs that— (a) result from the
personal injury; and (b) arise, or arose,
while the person is, or was, a participant in the insurance
scheme. (3) This section applies—
(a) whether or not the personal injury is
a serious personal injury; and (b)
whether or not the treatment, care and
support needs are an approved service for the person under the
National Injury Act; and (c)
whether or
not the insurance
agency must,
under that
Act,
make a payment in relation to the treatment, care
and
support needs; and (d) whether or
not the treatment, care
and support is
provided without charge. (4)
Also, this section applies subject to
section 52C. Page 52 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 52C] (5)
In
this section— participant , in the
insurance scheme, see the National Injury Act, section
14(1). treatment, care
and support needs
see the National
Injury Act, section
8. Not authorised —indicative only
52C Damages if insurance agency is liable
to contribute (1) This section applies to a claim for
personal injury damages against an
insurer under
the Motor Accident
Insurance Act
1994 if—
(a) the personal injury resulted from a
motor accident; and (b) the person
suffering the
personal injury
is a lifetime
participant in
the insurance scheme
in relation to
a serious personal
injury resulting
from the
motor accident;
and (c) a court decides— (i)
the
person is not guilty of contributory negligence in relation to
the claim; or (ii) the person is
guilty of contributory negligence in relation
to the claim
and the damages
that the
person would
be entitled to
in the absence
of contributory negligence are to be
reduced, because of the contributory negligence, by less than
50%; and (d) the insurance
agency is liable, under the National Injury Act,
section 42,
to contribute towards
the insurer’s liability
on the claim
for treatment, care
and support damages.
(2) The court may award treatment, care
and support damages. (3) However,
if the court
awards treatment, care
and support damages, the
court must not, in assessing the amount of the treatment, care
and support damages,
take into
account any
contributory negligence of the
person. Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
53
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 53] (4)
In
this section— lifetime participant see the National
Injury Act, section 14(2). treatment, care and support
damages see the National Injury Act, schedule
1. Not authorised —indicative only
Part
3 Assessment of damages 53
Notice requiring mitigation of
damages (1) If a
defendant is
not satisfied with
the action taken
by a plaintiff
to mitigate damages,
the defendant may
give the
plaintiff written notice suggesting
specified action the plaintiff should take to
mitigate damages. (2) The notice may, for example, suggest
that— (a) the plaintiff
should undergo
medical treatment
of a specified kind;
or (b) the plaintiff should return to work or
take specified steps to obtain employment; or
(c) the plaintiff should undergo
rehabilitation therapy of a specified
kind, or
undertake specified
programs of
rehabilitation and training.
(3) Subsection (1) does not limit the
plaintiff’s duty to mitigate damages.
(4) In assessing damages for personal
injury, the court must— (a) consider
whether the
plaintiff has
failed to
take reasonable steps
to mitigate damages by not following suggestions made
under this section or a written notice given under
the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act
2002 , section 26; and (b)
if
the notice suggested that the plaintiff undergo medical
treatment or rehabilitation therapy of a
specified kind— consider whether
the notice was
accompanied by
an Page 54 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 54] offer
by the defendant
to pay for
the cost of
the treatment or therapy; and
(c) if it
appears the
plaintiff has
failed to
take steps
to mitigate damages
by not following
the suggestions— reduce the
plaintiff’s damages to an appropriate extent reflecting the
failure if,
in all the
circumstances, the
court considers that the plaintiff’s failure
to follow the suggestions was not reasonable.
(5) Subsection (4) does
not apply in
assessing damages
for personal injury
if leave to
start the
proceeding was
given under
the Personal Injuries
Proceedings Act
2002 ,
section 43(1) and was not stayed under
section 43(3) of that Act because section 43(4) of that Act
applied. (6) In this section— defendant
means a person against whom a claim for
personal injury damages is made whether or not a
proceeding for the claim has been started. plaintiff
means an injured person making a claim for
personal injury damages whether or not a proceeding
for the claim has been started. 54
Damages for loss of earnings
(1) In making an award of damages for loss
of earnings, including in a dependency claim, the maximum
award a court may make is for an amount equal to the limit
fixed by subsection (2). (2) The limit is an
amount equal to the present value of 3 times average weekly
earnings per week for each week of the period of loss of
earnings. (3) In this section— present
value means the value when the award is
made. Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
55
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 55] 55
When
earnings can not be precisely calculated (1)
This
section applies if a court is considering making an award
of
damages for loss of earnings that are unable to be precisely
calculated by reference to a defined weekly
loss. (2) The court may only award damages if it
is satisfied that the person has
suffered or
will suffer
loss having
regard to
the person’s age,
work history,
actual loss
of earnings, any
permanent impairment and any other relevant
matters. (3) If the
court awards
damages, the
court must
state the
assumptions on
which the
award is
based and
the methodology it used to arrive at the
award. (4) The limitation mentioned in section
54(2) applies to an award of damages under this section.
56 Damages for loss of superannuation
entitlements (1) The maximum amount of damages that may
be awarded to an employee for
economic loss
due to the
loss of
employer superannuation contributions is
the relevant percentage of
damages payable
(in accordance with
this part)
for the deprivation or
impairment of the earning capacity on which the entitlement
to the contributions is based. (2)
The
relevant percentage is the percentage of earnings that is
the
minimum percentage required by a written law to be paid
on the employee’s behalf
as employer superannuation contributions. 57
Discount rate for calculating present value
of future loss or gratuitous services (1)
When
assessing an amount of damages as a lump sum for a
future loss
or gratuitous services,
the amount must
be the present value,
calculated using the prescribed discount rate, of
the
future loss or gratuitous services. (2)
In
this section— Page 56 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 58] prescribed discount
rate ,
for an award,
see the Civil
Proceedings Act 2011 , section
61. 58 Damages for loss of consortium or loss
of servitium (1) A court
must not
award damages
for loss of
consortium or
loss
of servitium unless— (a) the injured
person died as a result of injuries suffered; or
(b) general damages
for the injured
person are
assessed (before
allowing for
contributory negligence) at
the amount prescribed under a regulation
for this provision, or more. Note—
Under section 75, the Minister must make a
recommendation about the amount to be prescribed.
(2) The court must not assess damages for
loss of servitium above the limit fixed by subsection
(3). (3) The limit is 3 times average weekly
earnings per week. 59 Damages for gratuitous services
provided to an injured person (1)
Damages for gratuitous services provided to
an injured person are not to be awarded unless—
(a) the services are necessary; and
(b) the need for the services arises
solely out of the injury in relation to
which damages are awarded; and (c)
the
services are provided, or are to be provided— (i)
for
at least 6 hours per week; and (ii)
for
at least 6 months. (2) Damages are
not to be
awarded for
gratuitous services
if gratuitous services of the same kind
were being provided for the injured person before the breach
of duty happened. Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
57
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 59A] (3)
In assessing damages
for gratuitous services,
a court must
take
into account— (a) any offsetting benefit
the service provider
obtains through
providing the services; and (b)
periods for which the injured person has not
required or is not likely to require the services
because the injured person has been or is likely to be cared for
in a hospital or other institution. 59A
Damages for gratuitous domestic services
provided by an injured person (1)
Subject to section 59B, damages (
section 59A damages ) may
be
awarded to an injured person for any loss of the person’s
capacity to provide gratuitous domestic
services to someone else (the recipient
) if
subsection (2) or (4) applies. (2)
Generally, the court may award section 59A
damages only if it is satisfied of all of the
following— (a) either— (i)
the
injured person died as a result of the injuries suffered;
or (ii) general
damages for
the injured person
are assessed (before
allowing for
contributory negligence) at
the amount prescribed under
section 58, or more; (b)
at
the relevant time the recipient was— (i)
a
person who resided at the injured person’s usual
residence; or (ii)
an
unborn child of the injured person; (c)
before the relevant time, the injured
person— (i) provided the services to the
recipient; or (ii) if the recipient
was then an unborn child—would have
provided services
to the recipient
had the recipient been
born; Page 58 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 59A] Not
authorised —indicative only
(d) the recipient was, or will be,
incapable of performing the services
personally because
of the recipient’s age
or physical or mental incapacity;
(e) there is
a reasonable expectation that,
if not for
the relevant injury, the injured person
would have provided the services to the recipient—
(i) for at least 6 hours a week;
and (ii) for a period of
at least 6 months; (f) there will be a need for the services
for the hours and the period mentioned
in paragraph (e),
and the need
is reasonable in all the
circumstances. (3) Subsection (4) applies if—
(a) the court is satisfied, as required
under subsection (2), in all respects
other than
that the
injured person
would have provided
the services for the hours and the period mentioned in
subsection (2)(e) and (f); and (b)
the recipient was
provided with
accommodation by
a parent other than the injured person
or with other care to which all of the following
apply— (i) it included accommodation provided
other than by the injured person; (ii)
it
was provided because the recipient is aged, frail
or
suffers from a mental or physical disability; (iii)
its
primary purpose was to give the recipient or the
injured person
a break from
their usual
care arrangements. (4)
The court may
award section
59A damages if
it considers that—
(a) the injured person would not have
provided the services for the hours and the period because
of the provision of the accommodation or the other care;
and (b) awarding the
damages is
reasonable in
all the circumstances. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 59
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 59B] Examples of
circumstances that may make the award reasonable—
1 The injured person would have had
custody of the recipient each alternate week
for a full week at a time. 2 The recipient
would have spent part of their school holidays with a
non-custodial parent. 3
The
recipient is an elderly parent and is placed in short-term
or occasional respite care at a nursing
home. (5) In this section— gratuitous domestic
services means
services of
a domestic nature for which
there has been, and will be, no payment or liability to
pay. parent includes a
person who stands in the place of a parent. relevant
time means— (a)
generally, when the relevant injury
happened; or (b) if the
symptoms of
the relevant injury
were not
immediately apparent
when it
happened, when
the nature and extent of the injury
becomes known. 59B Circumstances in which section 59A
damages can not be awarded (1)
To
remove any doubt, it is declared that section 59A damages
can
not be awarded if the recipient is not a person mentioned
in
section 59A(2)(b). (2) Section 59A damages can not be awarded
for loss if, and to the extent— (a)
the injured person
can recover damages
for gratuitous services
mentioned in section 59 for the same injury that
caused the loss; and (b)
the
provision of gratuitous services to the injured person
also
resulted, or would also result, in the recipient being
provided with the domestic services that the
person has lost the capacity to provide.
(3) Section 59A damages
can not be
awarded if,
and to the
extent— Page 60
Current as at [Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 59C] (a)
the loss resulted
from personal
injury to
which the
Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994
applies; and Note—
For
when the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994
applies, see section 5 of
that Act. (b) under section 51 of that Act an
insurer has paid, or is liable to
pay, the
cost of
providing rehabilitation services to the
injured person; and (c) the provision of the rehabilitation
services resulted, or would result,
in the recipient
being provided
with the
domestic services
that the
injured person
has lost the
capacity to provide. (4)
An
injured person, or an injured person’s legal representative,
can not be
awarded section
59A damages for
a loss if
the recipient has
previously recovered
damages for
a loss sustained
because of the person’s loss of capacity. 59C
Provisions for assessment of section 59A
damages (1) In deciding,
for section 59A, the
value of
any gratuitous domestic
services that an injured person has lost the capacity
to
provide to the recipient, the court must take into account—
(a) the extent of the injured person’s
capacity to provide the services before the relevant time
under section 59A; and (b) the extent to
which provision of the services would, if not for the
injury sustained by the injured person, have also
benefited persons
outside the
injured person’s
household; and (c)
the vicissitudes or
contingencies of
life for
which allowance
is ordinarily made
in the assessment of
damages. (2)
Section 59A damages
must be
assessed on
the injured person’s life
expectancy immediately before the relevant time under section
59A. Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
61
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 59D] (3)
However, if
the injured person’s
life is
shortened by
an unrelated event, section 59A damages
can not be awarded for any period after the person’s
death. Example of an unrelated event—
a
life-limiting illness first suffered after the breach of duty
happened (4) In deciding the amount of section 59A
damages, if any, to be awarded to the injured person for a
loss of capacity mentioned in section 59A, a court—
(a) may only award damages for that loss
as provided under section 59A; and (b)
must
not include in any general damages awarded to the
injured person a component that compensates
the person for the loss of that capacity.
59D Restriction on damages if section 59A
damages already recovered (1)
This section
applies to
anyone (the
claimant ),
including a
recipient mentioned in section 59A(1), who
makes a claim for loss sustained
because of
personal injury
suffered by
an injured person. (2)
The
claimant can not be awarded damages for a loss sustained
by the claimant
because of
the injured person’s
loss of
capacity to provide gratuitous domestic
services if the injured person or
the person’s legal
representative has
previously recovered
section 59A damages for that loss. 60
Interest (1)
A
court can not order the payment of interest on— (a)
an
award for general damages; or (b)
an
award of damages for gratuitous services provided to
an
injured person. (2) Interest awarded
on damages compensating past
monetary loss—
Page
62 Current as at [Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 61] (a)
must
not be more than interest at the appropriate rate;
and (b) must be related
in an appropriate way to the period over which the loss
was incurred. (3) The appropriate rate
is the rate
for 10 year
Treasury bonds
published by
the Reserve Bank
of Australia under
‘Capital Market
Yields—Government Bonds—Daily—F2’ as
at the beginning
of the quarter
in which the
award of
interest is
made. Example of
calculation of interest for this section— Suppose that
past monetary loss consists of medical expenses that have
been
incurred at a uniform rate over a particular period. The interest
to be awarded would be calculated under the
following formula— A = am/100 x p x 0.5 where—
A is the amount of the award of
interest. a is a percentage rate decided by the
court subject to the limit fixed in subsection
(2). m is the aggregate of the medical
expenses. p is the period over which the medical
expenses have been incurred (expressed in
years). 61 Assessment by court of injury
scale (1) If general damages are to be awarded
by a court in relation to an injury arising after 1 December
2002, the court must assess an injury scale
value as follows— (a) the injured
person’s total
general damages
must be
assigned a
numerical value
( injury scale
value )
on a scale running
from 0 to 100; (b) the scale
reflects 100
equal gradations of
general damages, from a
case in which an injury is not severe enough
to justify any
award of
general damages
to a case
in which an
injury is
of the gravest
conceivable kind;
(c) in assessing the injury scale value,
the court must— Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
63
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 62] (i)
assess the
injury scale
value under
any rules provided under a
regulation; and (ii) have
regard to
the injury scale
values given
to similar injuries in previous
proceedings. (2) If a court assesses an injury scale
value for a particular injury to be more or
less than any injury scale value prescribed for or
attributed to
similar particular injuries
under subsection
(1)(c), the court must state the factors on which the
assessment is
based that
justify the
assessed injury
scale value.
62 Calculation of general damages
(1) For an injury arising after 1 December
2002, general damages must be
calculated by
reference to
the general damages
calculation provisions applying to the
period within which the injury arose. (2)
In
this section— general damages
calculation provisions ,
applying to
a period, means the provisions
prescribed for the period under a regulation. Part 4
Structured settlements 63
Definition for pt 4 In this
part— structured settlement means an
agreement providing for the payment of all
or part of an award of personal injury damages in
the form of
periodic payments
funded by
an annuity or
other agreed means. Page 64
Current as at [Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 3 Assessment of damages for personal
injury [s 64] 64
Court
required to inform parties of proposed award (1)
The
purpose of this section is to enable the court to give the
parties to a proceeding a reasonable
opportunity to negotiate a structured settlement.
(2) A court
that decides
to make an
award for
future loss
(not including
interest) of more than the amount prescribed under a
regulation for this section must first
notify all the parties to the proceeding of
the terms of the award it proposes to make. Note—
Under section 75, the Minister must make a
recommendation about the amount to be prescribed.
65 Court may make consent order for
structured settlement A court may, on the application of the
parties to a claim for personal injury damages, make an order
approving of or in the terms of a structured settlement even
though the payment of damages is not in the form of a lump
sum award of damages. 66 Obligation of
legal practitioners to provide advice A lawyer engaged
by a plaintiff must advise the plaintiff, in writing,
about the
following if
the plaintiff proposes
to negotiate a
settlement of
a claim for
personal injury
damages— (a)
the
availability of structured settlements; (b)
the desirability of
the plaintiff obtaining
independent financial advice
about structured settlements and lump sum settlements
of the claim. 67 Offer of structured settlement—legal
costs (1) The Uniform
Civil Procedure
Rules 1999
,
chapter 9, part 5 extends to
an offer of
compromise by
way of a
structured settlement on a
claim for personal injury damages. (2)
In that case,
the court is
to have regard
to the cost
to the defendant of the
proposed structured settlement as compared Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 65
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 4 Miscellaneous [s 68]
to
the lump sum payment of damages when deciding whether
a
reasonable offer of compromise has been made. Not
authorised —indicative only
Chapter 4 Miscellaneous Part 1
Expressions of regret 68
Application of pt 1 This part
applies only in relation to a claim for personal injury
damages. 69
Definition for pt 1 In this
part— liability includes the
following— (a) fault; (b)
negligence. 70
Purpose of pt 1 The purpose of
this part is to allow an individual to express regret
about an
incident that
may give rise
to an action
for personal injury
damages without
being concerned
that the
expression of regret may be construed or
used as an admission of liability
on a claim
or in a
proceeding based
on a claim
arising out of the incident.
71 Meaning of expression of
regret An expression of regret
made
by an individual in relation to an incident
alleged to give rise to an action for damages is any
oral
or written statement expressing regret for the incident to
Page
66 Current as at [Not applicable]
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Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 4 Miscellaneous [s 72]
the
extent that it does not contain an admission of liability on
the
part of the individual or someone else. 72
Expressions of regret are
inadmissible An expression of regret made by an
individual in relation to an incident alleged
to give rise to an action for damages at any time before a
civil proceeding is started in a court in relation
to
the incident is not admissible in the proceeding.
Example— Suppose
a patient attended
a health service
and was diagnosed
as suffering from
gall stones.
Removal of
the gall bladder
was recommended for
treatment of
the condition. The
procedure was
attempted, but there was an adverse
outcome. A health care provider stated that the
provider was sorry that there was an adverse
outcome. The statement is
inadmissible in
any future proceeding against
the health care provider in relation to a
personal injury allegedly arising out of the
procedure. Part 1A Apologies
72A Application of pt 1A
(1) This part applies to civil liability
of any kind. (2) However, this part does not apply to
the following— (a) civil liability that is excluded from
the operation of this part by section 5; (b)
civil liability for defamation;
(c) civil liability of a person for an
unlawful intentional act done by the person with intent to
cause personal injury; (d) civil liability
of a person for an unlawful sexual assault or other
unlawful sexual misconduct committed by the person.
Current as at [Not applicable]
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67
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Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 4 Miscellaneous [s 72B]
72B Purpose of pt 1A The
purpose of
this part
is to allow
a person to
make an
apology about a matter without the apology
being construed or used as an admission of liability in
relation to the matter. 72C Meaning of
apology An
apology is an expression
of sympathy or regret, or of a general
sense of
benevolence or
compassion, in
connection with
any matter, whether
or not it
admits or
implies an
admission of fault in relation to the
matter. 72D Effect of apology on liability
(1) An apology made by or on behalf of a
person in relation to any matter alleged to have been caused
by the person— (a) does not constitute an express or
implied admission of fault or liability by the person in
relation to the matter; and (b)
is
not relevant to the determination of fault or liability in
relation to matter. (2)
Evidence of an apology made by a person is
not admissible in any civil proceeding as evidence of the
fault or liability of the person in relation to the
matter. Part 2 Jury
trials 73 Exclusion of jury trial
A
proceeding in a court based on a claim for personal injury
damages must be decided by the court sitting
without a jury. Page 68 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Part
3 General Civil Liability
Act 2003 Chapter 4 Miscellaneous [s 74]
Not authorised —indicative only
74 Regulation-making power
(1) The Governor
in Council may
make regulations under
this Act.
(2) A regulation may do any of the
following— (a) prescribe offences
for a contravention of
a regulation, and fix a
maximum penalty of not more than 20 penalty units for a
contravention; (b) prescribe fees payable under this
Act. 75 Indexation of particular
amounts (1) The Minister must, on or before 1 July
2011 and on or before 1 July in each succeeding year,
recommend to the Governor in Council
the amounts that
are to be
prescribed under
a regulation for or under the following
provisions— (a) section 58(1)(b); (b)
section 62(2), definition general
damages calculation provisions ;
(c) section 64(2). (2)
The
amount recommended for or under the provision is to be
the
amount last prescribed under a regulation for or under the
provision adjusted
by the percentage change
in average weekly earnings
over the 12 months preceding the date of the recommendation
and rounded to the nearest ten dollar. (3)
However, if the percentage change in average
weekly earnings over the 12 months preceding the date of the
recommendation would reduce
the amount prescribed for
or under the
provision or result in no change to the
amount, the Minister need not make a recommendation.
(4) If the
percentage change
in average weekly
earnings mentioned
in subsection (2) is
not available from
the Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
69
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 5 Transitional and other
provisions [s 76] Australian
Statistician, the Minister must advise the Governor
in
Council accordingly. (5) If
the Minister advises
the Governor in
Council of
the unavailability of the percentage
change under subsection (4), the amount
prescribed for or under the provision is the amount
decided by the Governor in Council.
(6) A regulation notified after 1 July in
a year and specifying a date that is before the date it is
notified as the date from which the amount
prescribed for the provision is to apply has effect
from
the specified date. (7) Subsection (6) applies
despite the
Statutory Instruments Act
1992 , section
34. (8) This section
does not
limit the
power of
the Governor in
Council to amend the amount prescribed under
a regulation for a limit. Chapter 5
Transitional and other provisions
Part
1 Transitional provisions for Act
No.
16 of 2003 76 Prescribed entities for ss 26 and
27 (1) Subsection (2) applies
until a
regulation under
this Act
prescribes an entity for section
26(1)(a). (2) The entities mentioned in the
Personal Injuries Proceedings
Regulation 2002
, section 12, immediately before
the commencement of this section are taken
to be prescribed for section 26(1)(a) and 27(1).
Page
70 Current as at [Not applicable]
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Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 5 Transitional and other
provisions [s 77] 77
Jury
trials Despite the omission of the
Personal Injuries Proceedings Act
2002 , section 58 by
chapter 6, part 1, of this Act and despite section 73 of
this Act, a jury trial may be started or continued
if
it could have been started or continued under the
Personal Injuries
Proceedings Act
2002 ,
section 77, immediately before the
commencement of this section. Part 2
Transitional provisions for
Justice and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2004 79
Food
donations Chapter 2,
part 3,
division 2
applies in
relation to
persons donating
food in
circumstances mentioned
in section 39(3) only
after the
commencement of
the Justice and
Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2004 , section 23. 80
Injuries under the Workers’ Compensation
and Rehabilitation Act 2003 Section 5(b) has
effect in relation to an injury as defined under
the Workers’ Compensation and
Rehabilitation Act
2003 ,
other than an injury to which section
34(1)(c) or 35 of that Act applies, whether the injury happened
before, on or after the commencement of this section.
Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
71
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Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 5 Transitional and other
provisions [s 81] Part 3
Transitional provision for Civil
Liability (Dust Diseases) and
Other Legislation Amendment
Act
2005 81 Awards of damages for loss of
earnings (1) It is declared that section 54, as
amended by the Civil Liability (Dust Diseases)
and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2005 ,
applies in
relation to
all awards for
damages for
loss of
earnings made on or after the commencement
of this section, whether or not liability for the loss arose
before or after the commencement. (2)
To
remove any doubt, it is declared that section 54 does not
apply in relation to an appeal against an
award for damages for loss of earnings heard on or after the
commencement if the award was made before the
commencement. Part 4 Declaration
about commencement of chapter 2,
part
2 82 Commencement of ch 2, pt 2
It
is declared that chapter 2, part 2 commenced and has effect,
and
has always had effect, on and from 1 March 2005.
Page
72 Current as at [Not applicable]
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Part
5 Civil Liability Act 2003 Chapter 5
Transitional and other provisions [s 83]
Transitional provision for
Criminal Code and Civil Liability
Amendment Act 2007 83 Personal injury to which the amended s
5 extends as a result of the amendment
(1) It is declared that section 5, to the
extent it is amended by the amending Act,
has effect to disapply this Act to a decision in
relation to personal injury only if the
personal injury, or any part of it, is or was caused on or
after 6 November 2006. (2) However,
section 5, to
the extent it
is amended by
the amending Act, does not have effect to
disapply this Act to a decision in
relation to
personal injury
if, before the
date of
assent of the amending Act—
(a) the parties
have entered
into an
agreement to
pay damages for the personal injury;
or (b) the trial in relation to the personal
injury has started but final relief has not been granted by
the court; or (c) final relief
in relation to
the personal injury
has been granted by a
court. (3) Section 5, as in force before 6
November 2006, continues to apply in
relation to a decision mentioned in subsection (2).
(4) In this section— amending
Act means the Criminal
Code and
Civil Liability
Amendment Act 2007 .
final relief , in relation to
personal injury, means the judgment or decision for
the civil claim in relation to the personal injury,
including the
judgment or
decision about
liability only,
whether or not an appeal has been made
against the judgment or decision. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 73
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 5 Transitional and other
provisions [s 84] Part 6
Transitional provision for
Justice and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2008, part 5
84 Persons donating food
(1) The reference to personal civil
liability in section 39(2), as in force before the
commencement of this section, has never had the effect of
limiting the protection to individuals. (2)
It
is declared that the protection has always been available to
persons including individuals and
corporations. Part 7 Transitional
provisions for Civil Liability and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2010 85
Retrospective effect of section 59A damages
provisions for dust-related claims only
(1) The section 59A damages provisions
apply to any dust-related claim, even
if the relevant
breach of
duty has
happened or
happens before 1 July 2010.
Note— The section 59A
damages provisions commence on 1 July 2010. (2)
However, the section 59A damages provisions
do not apply to a dust-related claim
if, before the
date of
assent of
the amending Act— (a)
the
claim was settled; or (b) a proceeding for
the claim was started and— (i) the proceeding
was discontinued; or (ii) judgment was
given in the proceeding. Page 74 Current as at
[Not applicable]
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Civil
Liability Act 2003 Chapter 5 Transitional and other
provisions [s 86] (3)
The
section 59A damages provisions apply to another type of
personal injury
claim only
if the relevant
breach of
duty happens on or
after 1 July 2010. (4) To remove any doubt, it is declared
that in a proceeding for a dust-related claim
started before
1 July 2010,
section 59A damages
may be claimed
even though
the section 59A damages
provisions have not yet commenced. (5)
In
this section— amending Act means the
Civil Liability and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2010 .
dust-related claim means a claim
for personal injury damages resulting from a
dust-related condition. section 59A damages provisions
means sections 5, 7, 59, 59A
to 59D and
60 and schedule
2, definition section
59A damages , as amended or
inserted under the amending Act. Part 8
Transitional provision for Civil
Liability and Other Legislation
Amendment Act 2018 86
Application of ch 2, pt 2A
Chapter 2, part 2A, other than division 2,
applies in relation to a cause
of action whether
it arose before
or after the
commencement. Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 75
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Schedule 2 Schedule 2
Dictionary Not
authorised —indicative only
section 8 abuse
claim , for chapter 2, part 2A, see section
33A. apology , for chapter 4,
part 1A, see section 72C. apportionable claim
,
for chapter 2, part 2, see section 29. a
professional see section 20. associated
trust , of an institution, for chapter 2, part 2A,
see section 33B. associated with
, an institution, for
chapter 2,
part 2A,
see section 33C. average
weekly earnings
, for a
financial year,
means the
amount of Queensland full-time adult persons
ordinary time earnings declared by the Australian
Statistician in the original series of the
statistician’s average weekly earnings publication
most
recently published before the start of the financial year.
child protection order means a child
protection order under the Child Protection Act 1999.
claim means a claim,
however described, for damages based on
a liability for
personal injury,
damage to
property or
economic loss,
whether that
liability is
based in
tort or
contract or in or on another form of action,
including breach of statutory duty and, for a fatal injury,
includes a claim for the deceased’s dependants or
estate. community organisation , for chapter 2,
part 3, division 2, see section 38. community
work ,
for chapter 2,
part 3,
division 2,
see section 38. consumer
,
for chapter 2, part 2, see section 29. contributory negligence see
the Law Reform
Act 1995 ,
section 10. Page 76
Current as at [Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Schedule 2 court
,
for chapter 2, part 2, see section 29. current
office holder
, for chapter
2, part 2A,
see section 33G(2).
damages includes any
form of monetary compensation. dangerous
recreational activity , for chapter 2, part 1,
division 4, see section 18. defendant
,
for chapter 2, part 2, see section 29. dependency
claim means a claim in relation to a fatal
injury brought on behalf of a deceased’s dependants
or estate. dust-related condition means—
(a) any of the following diseases—
• aluminosis •
asbestos induced carcinoma
• asbestosis •
asbestos related pleural diseases
• bagassosis •
berylliosis •
byssinosis •
coal
dust pneumoconiosis • farmers’ lung •
hard
metal pneumoconiosis • mesothelioma •
silicosis •
silicotuberculosis •
talcosis; or (b)
any
other pathological condition of the lung, pleura or
peritoneum that is attributable to
dust. duty means—
(a) a duty of care in tort; or
Current as at [Not applicable]
Page
77
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Schedule 2 (b)
a duty of
care under
contract that
is concurrent and
coextensive with a duty of care in tort;
or (c) another duty
under statute
or otherwise that
is concurrent with a duty of care
mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b). duty
of care means
a duty to
take reasonable care
or to exercise
reasonable skill (or both duties). expression of
regret see section 71. food
donor ,
for chapter 2,
part 3,
division 2,
see section 38A(1). function
,
for chapter 2, part 3, division 1, see section 34.
future loss means all or any
of the following— (a) future economic loss;
(b) future general expenses;
(c) future medical expenses.
general damages , for chapter 3,
see section 51. harm means harm of
any kind, including the following— (a)
personal injury; (b)
damage to property; (c)
economic loss. head
, of
an institution, for chapter 2, part 2A, see section 33A.
injury , for chapter 3,
see section 51. injury scale value see section
61(1)(a). institution , for chapter 2,
part 2A, see section 33A. insurance agency , for chapter 3,
part 2A, see section 52A. insurance scheme , for chapter 3,
part 2A, see section 52A. intoxicated , in relation to
a person, means that the person is under the
influence of alcohol or a drug to the extent that the
person’s capacity to exercise proper care
and skill is impaired. liability , for chapter 4,
part 1, see section 69. Page 78 Current as at
[Not applicable]
Not authorised —indicative only
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Schedule 2 loss of
earnings means— (a)
past economic
loss due
to loss of
earnings or
the deprivation or impairment of earning
capacity; and (b) future economic loss due to loss of
prospective earnings or the deprivation or impairment of
prospective earning capacity. motor
accident , for chapter 3, part 2A, see section
52A. motor vehicle
means a
vehicle for
which registration is
required under
the Transport Operations (Road
Use Management—Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2010
and includes a trailer.
National Injury Act , for chapter 3,
part 2A, see section 52A. nominee , for an
institution, for chapter 2, part 2A, see section
33A. obvious
risk — (a) for chapter 2,
part 1, division 3, see section 13; and (b)
chapter 2, part 1, division 4, see section
18. organised , for chapter 2,
part 3, division 2, see section 38. personal
injury includes— (a)
fatal injury; and (b)
pre-natal injury; and (c)
psychological or psychiatric injury;
and (d) disease. personal
injury damages
means damages
that relate
to the death of or
injury to a person. person in
distress ,
for chapter 2,
part 1,
division 7,
see section 25. possession , for chapter 2,
part 3, division 2, see section 38(1). public or other
authority , for chapter 2, part 3, division 1,
see section 34. section 59A
damages see section 59A(1). Current as at
[Not applicable] Page 79
Civil
Liability Act 2003 Schedule 2 serious
personal injury
, for chapter
3, part 2A,
see section 52A.
structured settlement , for chapter 3,
part 4, see section 63. volunteer , for chapter 2,
part 3, division 2, see section 38. work
,
for chapter 2, part 3, division 2, see section 38.
Not authorised —indicative only
Page
80 Current as at [Not applicable]