---
title: "Set out the owner's damages liability under section 25"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-liability-questions-for-a-dog-attack/new-south-wales"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-PL20261023-7-NSW"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["NSW"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Set out the owner's damages liability under section 25

> List the owner, the bodily injury or property damage the records describe, and any fact going to the limits in section 25. Do not plead the cause of action.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-liability-questions-for-a-dog-attack/new-south-wales  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-25

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | List the owner, the bodily injury or property damage the records describe, and any fact going to the limits in section 25. Do not plead the cause of action. |
| What the lawyer must review | The lawyer decides whether section 25 applies and whether a limit in the section is open. Do not read section 25(4) as affecting liability apart from that section. 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). |
| Written for | New South Wales |
| Applies to | [Set out the liability questions for a dog attack](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-liability-questions-for-a-dog-attack.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

Section 25 makes the owner liable in damages for bodily injury from wounding or attacking, and for personal property damaged in the course of the attack, subject to the limits in the section.

- What the AI does: List the owner, the bodily injury or property damage the records describe, and any fact going to the limits in section 25. Do not plead the cause of action.
- What the lawyer does: Make the legal assessment, check the source material and authorise the output for its intended use.
- Who reviews: Lawyer competent in this practice area
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 23 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Record bodily injury caused by the dog wounding or attacking, and damage to personal property, including clothing, caused in the course of that attack.
2. Check section 25(2)(a): an attack on property or a vehicle of which the owner is an occupier, or where the dog is ordinarily kept, and only if the person was not lawfully there and the dog was not a dangerous, menacing or restricted dog.
3. Check section 25(2)(b): immediate response to, and wholly induced by, intentional provocation by a person other than the owner or the owner's employees or agents.
4. Note section 25(3): the section does not apply to a police dog or a corrective services dog. Section 25(4) preserves other liability.

## Notes

- The section page did not print an "as at" date. Confirm the current text before reliance. The lawyer still decides who the owner is.
- If this is filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Practice Note SC Gen 23, issued on 28 January 2025 and commenced on 3 February 2025, bars generative AI from the content of an affidavit or witness statement, and from an expert report without prior leave, subject to paragraph 23.

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: New South Wales. A dog attack in which section 25 is in question.

**Deliverable**: A question list tied to section 25 and the records, for the lawyer to settle.

**Inputs**

- Records naming the owner
- Records of the injury or damaged property
- Any document on place, lawful presence or provocation

**Example**: Illustrative example: The records say a dog bit a person on the footpath and tore a sleeve. The list records bodily injury and clothing. It does not decide the defence.

**Stop and escalate when**

- The owner is not identified in a document.
- The tool is asked to plead the claim.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Companion Animals Act 1998 (NSW) section 25](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/caa1998174/s25.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) section 5B](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/cla2002161/s5b.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Supreme Court of NSW Practice Note SC Gen 23](https://supremecourt.nsw.gov.au/practice-procedure/generative-artificial-intelligence.html) (checked 2026-10-23)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*