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Resource Key
Resource Level
We have graded each source in this Research Guide according to the following levels.
Level 1
Brief, easy to read information which may be basic and use informal language. Newspaper articles are generally this level.
Level 2
Generally includes subject-specific language, provides additional reading and may provide additional background information.
Level 3
Typically, these will be longer in length, detailed and contain technical information.
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Informit Explore
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Informit is the leading single source of journal articles, periodicals, books and policy papers written by experts and specialists in Australia. For off-site access you will need a login: follow the link at the top of this page to access our Usernames and Passwords.
Newsbank
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Access is provided via direct link. Click the Newsbank logo to be directed to our BYOD site, scoll down to Newsbank for direct link. "This fully searchable online resource offers the complete text of thousands of news articles, editorials, obituaries, classifieds and more from around the world. Coverage for most titles starts in the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s and continues through the present day. Includes influential news sources from every state and territory in Australia."
Negligence - Genera
Negligence - General Resources and Related Legislation
- Negligence
"If your organisation: owes a duty of care, breaches this duty, and the breach causes
damage to a person to which the duty is owed,it may be found liable (legally responsible) for the damage caused ... " - Negligence | Caxton Legal Service
Click through the various chapters on Negligence provided by the Caxton Legal Service. - Defences to Negligence | Caxton Street Legal Service" ... the defendant ... bears the onus of proving any defence to the action. The following defences may apply to a claim for damages for personal injury: obvious risk, inherent risk, voluntary assumption of risk. dangerous recreational activity, exclusion of liabilities, illegality, inevitable accidents, and contributory negligence ... "
- Defences to Civil Liability"Waivers, indemnity or exclusion clauses abound in contracts, but in most cases actually provide little if any real protection for the person relying on the clause at common law and are often seen by courts as being attempts to circumvent legal duties and responsibilities. In practice, courts may interpret any ambiguity in such exclusion clauses ‘strictly’, that is, against the person relying on them ... "
- Insurance in Sport"To minimise exposure from breaches of duties of care, public liability insurance is essential. Other essential insurances necessary to the wellbeing of any sporting organisation include players’ medical insurance, insurance covering the premises and contents of buildings, and vehicle insurance ... "
Negligence in Sport general resources
Sports and the Law
- Why sports stars get less support than other injured workers – and how we can fix it"Inadequate, inequitable, and in some cases possibly in breach of workers’ compensation laws. That’s how bad the current insurance arrangements are for Australia’s professional sports people, who get less support for long-term injuries than other workers, and less support than if they’d been playing in New Zealand ... "
- Sport Governing Bodies and the Duty of Care
"This paper will ... examine the issue of the duty of care within the sporting context by examining its application to governing bodies in relation to four specific situations. These are ball-tampering, spot and match fixing in cricket, serious spinal injuries within the rugby codes, and concussion ... " - Suing the AFL for negligence: An analysis of the process and prospects of a potential class action proceeding based on concussion-related injuries sustained in afl football"In Australia, and particularly in Melbourne, there is a widespread and passionate love of sport. There is a particular love of Australian rules football ('AFL football'), with 10 of the 18 professional Australian Football League ('AFL') teams being based in Victoria. In AFL football, as in many contact sports, there is an ever-increasing public focus on concussion injuries. In light of recent class action litigation by former players against sport governing bodies in the United States ('US'), this article will explore the possibilities open to former AFL footballers to pursue a similar claim for negligence ... "
- Concussion, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and proof of causation by material contribution"A plaintiff athlete suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) who intends suing his or her major sporting organisation in negligence for failure to warn of the risk of CTE or failing to establish concussion protocols must prove causation of harm. CTE is a disease caused by the accumulation of repetitive head trauma over an athlete's entire career; as a junior, adolescent, and senior participant in contact sport. How, in such circumstances, is the affected athlete to prove that the CTE with which he or she is afflicted was the result of play in the premier league rather than, say, from head trauma experienced as a junior? This paper considers proof of causation by 'material contribution' under the 'exceptional case' provisions of civil liability legislation as informed by the common law ... "
Sports Injuries
Sports Injuries
- Concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports"In recent years there have been increasing reports and concern, both in Australia and internationally, about the growing evidence of the link between sport‑related concussions and repeated head trauma, and short and long-term impacts on athletes’ health, including links to neurodegenerative diseases such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) ... " On 1 December 2022, the Senate referred an inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sports to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee, this is the draft report.
- What are my legal rights when it comes to sports injuries?"Whether you do dance classes, lift weights or play pickleball, these activities have something in common – at some point, you may find yourself with an injury, through no fault of your own ... "
- Football legend Austin Robertson's daughter speaks about his posthumous CTE diagnosis."Nicola Petrossian, the eldest of Austin Robertson's three daughters, learnt of the official diagnosis last week, but told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth it wasn't a surprise ... "
- AFL changes concussion guidelines for community football"Community footballers will have to sit out for at least three weeks if they suffer a concussion ... "
- Coroner recommends limited contact training in wake of AFL death"The league has been recommended to limit "full-contact training" to reduce concussions and to have an independent GPs at games ... "
Workers' Compensation
Workers' Compensation
- Comparison of Workers’ Compensation Arrangements in Australia and New Zealand 2023"This report provides information about workers’ compensation arrangements and the differences between schemes in Australia and New Zealand as at 31 December 2023. It compares key features such as: coverage, benefits, return to work provisions, self-insurer arrangements, and scheme administrative and funding arrangements ... "
- Workers’ Compensation and Injury Insurance in Australian Sport: The Status May Not Be Quo"This article examines the exemption from workers’ compensation of professional sportspersons. This examination reveals the exemption is complex, with numerous jurisdictional differences, exceptions and qualifications. The examination also reveals that many of the arguments originally advanced in support of the exemption are redundant in a world in which sport has been corporatised and commercialised. This conclusion raises numerous questions. Should the status quo remain, or should professional sportspersons receive coverage under workers’ compensation legislation or some form of bespoke injury insurance scheme? What limitations (if any) should apply to professional sportspersons’ claims for compensation? What type and level of benefits should apply? And how and by whom should it be funded? These (and other) questions make this is an important issue worthy of further investigation."
- Risk Management for Coaches and Officials | NRL"Thousands of Australians participate in Rugby League at various levels on a regular basis. Activities range from the purely amateur recreational level to high profile professional Rugby League. No matter where on the scale an individual is placed, they may be exposed to risks that have the potential to cause physical, financial or legal disaster. Therefore the effective management of risk is an important requirement of everyone involved in Rugby League ... "
Cases
- The James McManus case"Details of the negligence being alleged by James McManus against his National Rugby League (NRL) club, the Newcastle Knights, are beginning to emerge. Allistar Twigg, Lawyer with SHG Sports, discusses this ground breaking case as the allegations unfold ... "
- State of Origin Star Sues NRL Over Head Injuries"Former NSW State of Origin winger James McManus is taking legal action against the Newcastle Knights over the club’s handling of his concussions, in a landmark case that could have significant ramifications for Australian sport ... "
- Former AFL player Brad Sheppard sues West Coast Eagles and AFL alleging 'medical negligence'"Retired footballer Brad Sheppard is suing his former club, the West Coast Eagles, the AFL as well as two doctors over claims of "medical negligence." ... "
- No other recourse but to sue? The implications of Alex McKinnon’s lawsuit against the NRL"Alex McKinnon, who was left in a wheelchair following an on-field tackle in an NRL match in 2014, is set to sue the league and the player deemed responsible for his injury, Jordan McLean ... "
- The implications of Alex McKinnon‘s lawsuit against the NRL"McKinnon’s case marks the first time a player has directly sued rugby league’s national governing body over an on-field injury in Australia ... "
- Law Report"A rugby league player suffered personal injury in a match when an opponent lifted him off the ground before driving him forcefully to the ground (in a manoeuvre known as a “spear tackle”). He claimed damages from the opponent and the opponent’s club on the basis that his injuries were caused by the opponent’s negligence for which the club was vicariously liable ... "
- Dickson v Northern Lakes Rugby League Sport & Recreation Club Inc | Jade Citator"In 2016 Mr Dickson was seriously injured in a rugby league match, when subjected to a spear tackle, or dangerous throw, by an opponent, Mr Fletcher. The incident was recorded on video. Mr Dickson sued Mr Fletcher for damages in tort, alleging that the injuries were caused by his negligence for whose negligence it was further asserted that North Lakes Rugby League Sport & Recreation Club Inc (“the Club”) was vicariously liable ... "
- The Sport Administrator's Charter : Agar v Hyde"Sport can be a risky business, especially if it entails vigorous contact as in rugby. When two teenage males suffered quadriplegia in rugby scrums, they alleged that the international rule-making body for the sport had breached a duty of care by not amending the rules of play to remove unnecessary risks. The High Court rejected this novel claim saying that rule-making bodies of sport owe no such duty ... "
- Agar v Hyde | Jade Citator"These appeals raise the question whether a member of the board of a voluntary sporting association, which has the capacity to make and alter the rules of a sporting contest, is under a legal duty of care to players in relation to the risk of injury ... "
- McCracken v Melbourne Storm Rugby League Football Club Limited | Jade Citator"The appellant, Mr Jarrod McCracken, was an outstanding rugby league football player. He played as a professional from 1991 to 2000. His career was ended on 12 May 2000 when he was injured in a game between his team, Wests Tigers, and the first respondent, Melbourne Storm (an incorporated company). His injuries were caused by a spear tackle ... "
- The Effect of the Decision in McCracken v Melbourne Storm Rugby League Football Club on Professional Sport in Western Australia"The 2005 NSW decision of McCracken v Melbourne Storm Rugby League Football Club generated much interest as it appeared to circumvent the provisions of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW), the main purpose of which is to impose a cap on damages awards for personal injury claims and to place limitations on liability in negligence ... "
- McCracken v Melbourne Storm Rugby League Football Club 2005 | Legal Case Reports" ... , as a consequence of the breach of their duty of care to Jarrod McCracken, Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai were found liable for their actions ... "