Tapp v Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association Limited [2022] HCA 11

On 6 April 2022, the High Court addressed the dangerous recreational activity defence under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) with its decision in Tapp v Australian Bushmen’s Campdraft & Rodeo Association Limited [2022] HCA 11.

In the decision, the majority of the High Court clarified the process by which the ‘risk of harm’ in negligence cases must be identified. Instructively, it has overturned the approach of considering ‘liability-defeating’ defences first.

In this update, W+K’s Charles Simon, Patrick Thompson and Gemma Curcio explain why insurers and their lawyers must tackle the questions of duty, breach and causation before embarking on statutory defences that have been previously used to defeat a claim.

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