Australian tort law
Tort law in Australia closely tracks the development of tort law in other common law jurisdictions. Particular attention is paid to United Kingdom tort law. Increasing importance is also placed on the development of tort law in Canada. The reader is assumed to have a general knowledge of Tort Law in common law jurisdictions.
Australian tort law can be divided into the common categories:
Trespass against the person
Trespass against personal property & land 1.
Negligence: Now influenced by the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) 2.
Nuisance
Defamation
There are some key differences between UK tort law and Australian tort law.
In Australia trespass is predicated on the directness of causation (see Williams v Milotin), whereas in the UK, it is predicated on intentionality (see Letang v Cooper).
If trespass is direct but unintentional, the plaintiff may choose to pursue an action based on negligent trespass, or negligence (negligent trespass is no longer possible in UK) (Wilson v Horne (Tasmanian Supreme Court, Leave to appeal to High Court denied).
The onus of proof for trespass on the highway is on the plaintiff at all times (Venning v Chin).
A breach of non-delegable duty is not automatic on founding a cause of action against the primary tortfeasor. Fault on the part of the contracting party must be shown.
1. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. 2. Note 1.