Screen a safety-defect injury against the Victorian discoverability period
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Where the claim may be filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, list the s 27D dates and whether a fault pleading would engage the significant-injury threshold. Do not treat those Victorian rules as the safety-defect test.
- What the lawyer must review
- Check s 27D: 3 years from discoverability, or 12 years from the act or omission, whichever ends first.
- If there was a disability at the date of the act or omission, take the claim outside s 27D.
- Do not use s 28LE as the test for a Part 3-5 claim. It applies where injury is caused by fault.
- Keep health records in a firm-controlled tool.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Supreme Court of Victoria, if a fault count is joined to the safety-defect claim
Produce. A screen that keeps the Victorian personal-injury period separate from the safety-defect clocks.
Have ready. Date of the act or omission and of discoverability; Whether a fault pleading is proposed; Injury records selected by the lawyer.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The goods were supplied nine years ago and the injury was discovered last year. The lawyer diaries both Victorian limbs and the Commonwealth clocks, and does not drop the safety-defect claim because s 27D looks shorter.
Stop and hand it back when
- The screen uses s 28LE for a Part 3-5 claim.
- A date is taken from a summary rather than the file.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Where the claim may be filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, list the s 27D dates and whether a fault pleading would engage the significant-injury threshold. Do not treat those Victorian rules as the safety-defect test. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Record both s 27D periods and which expires first.
- Leave ACL s 143 and CCA s 87F on the safety-defect side of the screen.
- Apply s 28LE only if the pleading alleges fault. Threshold level is in s 28LB.
- Do not put the injury records into a public AI tool.
Sources
- Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), s 27D · 2026-10-23
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), s 28LE and s 28LB · 2026-10-23
- Supreme Court of Victoria, Practice Note SC GEN 25 · 2026-10-23
If the work reaches the Supreme Court of Victoria, Practice Note SC GEN 25 requires the lawyer to verify output. Do not put health records into a public AI tool. One AI tool cannot verify another.
Section 27D does not apply to a cause of action founded on injury to a person who was under a disability at the date of the act or omission. The disability regime after s 27D was not opened.