The High Court of Australia has handed down a significant decision on the law of ‘vicarious liability’, ruling that a church body is not automatically liable for sexual assault carried out by priests or ministers, where those persons are not employed by the church. In Bird v DP (a pseudonym) [2024] HCA 41 (13 November 2024) the court ruled (by 6-1 majority) that the doctrine of vicarious liability should not be extended to apply to relationships ‘akin to employment’. In doing so it upheld an appeal against the decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal that the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ballarat (and the diocese) should be held to be vicariously liable for historic acts of child abuse … (more)
[Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia, 14 November 2024]
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