Check whether Queensland exemplary damages are barred on an abuse claim
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the causes the lawyer has named, record for each defendant the act the lawyer says caused the injury. Do not say the whole Civil Liability Act is excluded, and do not calculate a figure.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether s 52(2) applies to the act that caused the injury.
- Section 5 does not take sexual assault, or an intentional act, outside the Act.
- Apply the pre-court Act's disapplication only to ss 40(2) and 56 for that class of act.
- Keep the file in the firm's system. Confidentiality and APP 11 apply.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland. Any claim for personal injury damages in which exemplary damages are raised.
Produce. A table of each defendant, the act the lawyer has identified, and the section the lawyer is considering.
Have ready. The causes the lawyer has named; The act said to have caused the injury; Whether exemplary damages are sought.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The claim against the institution is pleaded as a failure to act. The tool records that s 52(2) asks about the act that caused the injury, and that s 52 as opened does not define act to include an omission. The lawyer decides.
Stop and hand it back when
- The tool says the whole Act is excluded.
- The tool calculates a figure.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the causes the lawyer has named, record for each defendant the act the lawyer says caused the injury. Do not say the whole Civil Liability Act is excluded, and do not calculate a figure. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Section 52(1) says a court cannot award exemplary, punitive or aggravated damages for a personal injury claim. Subsection (2) says that bar does not apply if the act that caused the injury was an unlawful intentional act done with intent to cause personal injury, or an unlawful sexual assault or other unlawful sexual misconduct.
- Section 5, which lists the civil liability taken outside the Act, names workers' compensation, dust and tobacco. It does not name sexual assault or an intentional act.
- Personal Injuries Proceedings Act s 6(4) says only ss 40(2) and 56 do not apply to that class of act. In that subsection, act includes an omission. Section 40 is about mandatory final offers. Section 56 is about costs where damages do not exceed the upper offer limit.
- The lawyer decides whether the institution's omission is the act that caused the injury for s 52. Section 52, as opened, does not itself say that act includes an omission.
Sources
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 52 · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s 5 · 2026-10-23
- Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld) s 6 · 2026-10-23
Do not say chapter 3 of the Civil Liability Act applies or does not apply. The section that would decide that was not opened.
Do not treat s 6(4) as an exemption from the notice of claim.