Set out the Wrongs Act section 51 causation questions
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the pleaded negligence and the harm, build a table with a row for factual causation, a row for scope of liability, and a blank for the facts. The tool does not decide either question.
- What the lawyer must review
- Confirm section 45 does not exclude the claim before the section 51 table is used.
- Treat transport-accident Parts 3, 6 and 10, and workplace Part 5, as outside that Part.
- Check the plaintiff's burden on causation. What the injured person would have done is decided subjectively.
- The lawyer writes any pleading or advice. The table stays on the file.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), negligence provisions containing sections 45, 51 and 52
Produce. A causation table with blanks for the facts. Not a pleading.
Have ready. The negligence and the harm, as the lawyer frames them; Whether the claim is excluded by section 45; The facts the lawyer has selected on what the injured person would have done.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The harm followed a public-place fall. The table has a blank necessary-condition row and a blank scope-of-liability row. The lawyer decides both. The tool does not write the statement of claim.
Stop and hand it back when
- Section 45 excludes the claim and the table is still headed as a section 51 claim.
- The table states a conclusion on causation or scope of liability.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the pleaded negligence and the harm, build a table with a row for factual causation, a row for scope of liability, and a blank for the facts. The tool does not decide either question. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Keep section 51(1)(a), the necessary condition, separate from section 51(1)(b), the scope of liability.
- Leave a row for section 51(2), where negligence cannot be shown as a necessary condition and the court considers whether responsibility should still be imposed.
- If what the injured person would have done matters, record that section 51(3) requires a subjective determination in the light of all relevant circumstances.
- Record section 52: the plaintiff bears the burden of proving, on the balance of probabilities, any fact relevant to causation.
Sources
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), authorised version 130 · 2026-10-23
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), section 51 · 2026-10-23
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), section 52 · 2026-10-23
- Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), section 45 · 2026-10-23
Sections 51 and 52 do not contain a rule making a later statement of what the person would have done inadmissible. Do not add one.
The Wrongs Act in force on 23 October 2026 is authorised version 130, effective 25 February 2026. These sections were read on the current compilation.
Keep health, wage and scheme records in a firm-controlled tool. Apply ASCR r 9 and APP 11, and consider whether any breach is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).