Check section 37, which moves the volunteer's liability to the organisation
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- List what the documents say about community work, the organisation, and whether the person was paid. Do not decide that the individual is protected.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer decides whether the person was a volunteer and whether an exception applies.
- Read section 38 before treating section 37 as complete. Its text was not opened.
- Keep health and wage records in a firm-controlled tool, not a public one.
- ASCR r 9 and APP 11 apply. Decide if a breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Victoria. A question whether an individual volunteer is personally liable.
Produce. A fact list on the volunteer and the organisation. The lawyer writes the advice.
Have ready. Documents on the organisation and the work; Any document on payment; Any document on good faith.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: A roster calls the person a volunteer and names the organisation. The list records both. It does not say the person is protected, because section 38 has not been read.
Stop and hand it back when
- The tool is asked to decide the person is protected.
- Section 38 is being treated as read when it was not.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. List what the documents say about community work, the organisation, and whether the person was paid. Do not decide that the individual is protected. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- Record what the documents say about community work, the organisation, good faith, and whether the person was paid.
- Section 37(1) is the protection. Section 37(2) says liability that would have attached to the volunteer attaches instead to the community organisation.
- The next section is section 38, headed on the opened page as inserted after section 37. Its text was not opened.
- Do not advise that the organisation cannot be sued. The opened subsection moves the liability to it.
Sources
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) section 37 · 2026-10-23
- Supreme Court of Victoria Practice Note SC Gen 25 · 2026-10-23
The lawyer reads section 38, the exceptions, before treating the protection as complete.
If this is filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Practice Note SC Gen 25, issued on 14 May 2026, calls for particular caution with affidavit material and expert reports, and says confidential information should not go into a public AI tool.