The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law
Sexual abuse has been a much publicised issue in Australia recently, particularly in the context of schools and churches. A very recent decision of the High Court of Australia has considered two grounds upon which an education authority might be held liable for acts of sexual abuse committed by teac...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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2003
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9243 |
| _version_ | 1848745893466996736 |
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| author | Williams, Peter |
| author_facet | Williams, Peter |
| author_sort | Williams, Peter |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Sexual abuse has been a much publicised issue in Australia recently, particularly in the context of schools and churches. A very recent decision of the High Court of Australia has considered two grounds upon which an education authority might be held liable for acts of sexual abuse committed by teachers against students: the non-delegable duty of care owed by an education authority and the principle of vicarious liability which governs whether an employer can be liable for the wrongs done by employees. In the judgment, some members of the High Court draw parallels between how the two grounds of liability might apply in the context of sexual abuse by teachers at schools and how they might apply in the context of sexual abuse by employees in institutions such as nursing homes, old people's homes, geriatric wards and daycare centres. The decision therefore raises important questions for those who are involved in the allied health industry. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:24:36Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-9243 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:24:36Z |
| publishDate | 2003 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-92432017-01-30T11:11:29Z The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law Williams, Peter employment - vicarious liability - sexual abuse Sexual abuse has been a much publicised issue in Australia recently, particularly in the context of schools and churches. A very recent decision of the High Court of Australia has considered two grounds upon which an education authority might be held liable for acts of sexual abuse committed by teachers against students: the non-delegable duty of care owed by an education authority and the principle of vicarious liability which governs whether an employer can be liable for the wrongs done by employees. In the judgment, some members of the High Court draw parallels between how the two grounds of liability might apply in the context of sexual abuse by teachers at schools and how they might apply in the context of sexual abuse by employees in institutions such as nursing homes, old people's homes, geriatric wards and daycare centres. The decision therefore raises important questions for those who are involved in the allied health industry. 2003 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9243 fulltext |
| spellingShingle | employment - vicarious liability - sexual abuse Williams, Peter The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law |
| title | The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law |
| title_full | The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law |
| title_fullStr | The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law |
| title_short | The Legal Liability of an Employer for Acts of Sexual Abuse Committed by an Employee: Recent Developments in Australian Law |
| title_sort | legal liability of an employer for acts of sexual abuse committed by an employee: recent developments in australian law |
| topic | employment - vicarious liability - sexual abuse |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/9243 |