Press Release - Minister Welcomes Final Negligence Review Report [02/10/2002]
C106/02
2 October 2002
MINISTER WELCOMES FINAL NEGLIGENCE REVIEW REPORT
Assistant Treasurer Senator Helen Coonan today released the final report of
the Review of the Law of Negligence.
The Review, chaired by the Honourable Justice David Ipp, was established as
one of the measures agreed by the second Ministerial Meeting on Public Liability
Insurance in May.
The panel, comprising Justice Ipp, Professor Peter Cane, Associate Professor
Donald Sheldon and Mr Ian Macintosh, was asked to inquire into the law of negligence
and to develop a series of proposals which provide a principled approach to
reforming the law of negligence.
"The Commonwealth, and all States and Territories, are grappling with
ways of implementing responsible reform which will take the pressure off insurance
premiums while providing adequate protection for consumers," Senator Coonan
said.
"The Review of the Law of Negligence provides a range of significant proposals
and outlines a principled approach to reforming tort law which impose a reasonable
burden of responsibility on individuals to take care of others and to take care
of themselves.
"There is strong community support for actions by Governments at all levels
to ensure our system of compensating injuries is balanced and does not contribute
to a culture of blame.
"Australians are clearly saying to their leaders that some of the payouts
coming from the courts just don't seem to make sense and they want some balance
restored to the system.
The final report incorporates the first report by the panel released in early
September and recommends a range of additional significant reforms including:
Forseeability of Risk
- Defendants should only be responsible for a risk that is not insignificant
rather than far fetched or fanciful risks;
Contributory Negligence
- Allowing courts to find that a plaintiff who contributed to his or her
own injury can be held 100 per cent responsible;
Public Authorities
- Providing a limited defence for public authorities, such as local councils,
where they have taken a decision on policy grounds not to perform a specific
public function, such as a road inspection.;
Mental Harm
- Changing negligence law so that plaintiffs who suffer a physical injury
can only claim for consequential psychiatric harm if they have suffered a
recognised mental illness and not simply because an injury may have led to
vague feelings of depression;
Limitations on Legal Costs
- Abolishing orders for legal costs when the award of damages is less than
$30,000 and limiting legal costs to $2500 in cases where the award of damages
is between $30,000 and $50,000;
Caps and Thresholds
- A cap for general damages payouts of $250,000 and thresholds to remove
small claims from the system;
- A cap for loss of earnings of twice average full time adult ordinary time
earnings.
"The proposed changes are about reforming a system which has become unaffordable
and meeting the expectations of the community while balancing the interests
of those who are injured with those of the community at large," Senator
Coonan said.
"The goal should be a system that imposes a reasonable burden of responsibility
on individuals to take care of others and to take care of themselves.
"As the panel has pointed out, only a small proportion of the sick, injured
and disabled are in a position to be compensated through the courts and under
the current system.
"Those who are able to frame a legal action arising from their misfortune
are often able to receive compensation which is very much higher than others
who have suffered the same fate."
Senator Coonan said the 61 recommendations had the potential to significantly
reform the legal system underlying medical negligence, public liability and
professional indemnity claims and to provide a platform for national consistency.
The final report has been distributed to all State and Territory Ministers
with responsibility for public liability insurance and will be discussed at
today's Ministerial Meeting on Public Liability Insurance in Sydney.
Senator Coonan said that although many of the panel's recommendations required
action by State and Territory Governments, the Commonwealth would look closely
at what more it could do to encourage and facilitate a nationally coordinated
response.
"I would like to thank Justice Ipp, Professor Cane, Professor Sheldon
and Mr Macintosh for their hard work on this important report in such a tight
timeframe," Senator Coonan said.
The full report is available at http://revofneg.treasury.gov.au