Prepare contributory negligence issues under the Civil Liability Act 2002
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the facts about the injured person's own conduct, build an issues table using sections 5R and 5S. Do not choose a percentage, and do not apply those sections to a claim section 3B excludes.
- What the lawyer must review
- Decide whether there was contributory negligence and what reduction is just
- Section 5S allows a reduction of 100 per cent if that is just and equitable
- Sections 5R and 5S can apply to a motor accident. They do not apply to work injury damages
- The tool does not choose a percentage
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. A New South Wales claim to which the Civil Liability Act 2002 applies
Produce. An issues table for sections 5R and 5S, with no percentage.
Have ready. Facts about the injured person's own conduct; Whether the claim is a motor accident, work injury, or other tort; The lawyer's view of which statute applies.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The facts are a public liability fall and a separate work injury damages claim. The table is built only for the public liability claim. The work injury damages claim is marked as outside sections 5R and 5S.
Stop and hand it back when
- The output states a percentage reduction.
- The claim is work injury damages or statutory workers compensation and the table still applies sections 5R and 5S.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the facts about the injured person's own conduct, build an issues table using sections 5R and 5S. Do not choose a percentage, and do not apply those sections to a claim section 3B excludes. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Section 5R applies the negligence principles to the injured person, at the standard of a reasonable person in that person's position, on what that person knew or ought to have known at the time.
- Section 5S allows the court to reduce damages by 100 per cent if it thinks that just and equitable, which defeats the claim.
- Section 3B(2)(a) applies Divisions 1 to 4 and 8 of Part 1A to motor accidents. Division 8 contains sections 5R and 5S.
- Section 3B(1)(f) takes work injury damages outside the Act, other than Part 1B. Section 3B(1)(g) takes statutory workers compensation outside the Act. Do not use sections 5R and 5S for those claims.
Sources
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 5R · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 5S · 2026-10-23
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 3B · 2026-10-23
- NSW legislation: Civil Liability Act 2002, current version · 2026-10-23
The current Act table of contents on the NSW legislation website lists sections 5R and 5S in Division 8. The wording used here is the text opened on AustLII on 23 October 2026.
A reduction is legal advice. The table is not a percentage and not a concession to an insurer.