---
title: "Set out the Wrongs Act section 51 causation questions"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-statutory-causation-questions-for-a-negligence-claim/victoria"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A21-SB20261022-1-VIC"
practice_area: "Personal Injury & Compensation (workers compensation, CTP/TAC, medical negligence)"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["VIC"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-25"
---

# Set out the Wrongs Act section 51 causation questions

> 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.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-statutory-causation-questions-for-a-negligence-claim/victoria  
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 | 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. |
| Written for | Victoria |
| Applies to | [Set out the statutory causation questions for a negligence claim](https://ailawframework.com/practice/personal-injury-and-compensation/set-out-the-statutory-causation-questions-for-a-negligence-claim.md) |

## Checking plan

**Verify against sources**

The lawyer decides factual causation and scope of liability. The table only sets out the section 51 questions.

- What the AI does: 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 does: Decide both elements, confirm the Part applies, and write any pleading or advice.
- 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. Keep section 51(1)(a), the necessary condition, separate from section 51(1)(b), the scope of liability.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Record section 52: the plaintiff bears the burden of proving, on the balance of probabilities, any fact relevant to causation.

## Notes

- 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).

## Practical guide

Jurisdiction: Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), negligence provisions containing sections 45, 51 and 52

**Deliverable**: A causation table with blanks for the facts. Not a pleading.

**Inputs**

- 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**: 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 escalate 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.

Checked 2026-10-23.

## Sources

- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), authorised version 130](https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/wrongs-act-1958/130) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), section 51](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/wa1958111/s51.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), section 52](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/wa1958111/s52.html) (checked 2026-10-23)
- [Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), section 45](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/wa1958111/s45.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.*