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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Western Australia
Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
CONTENTS
1. Short title 1
2. Commencement 2
3. Interpretation 2
4. Meaning of "volunteer" 3
5. Application 4
6. Protection of volunteers from liability 4
7. Liability of community organisations 5
8. Certain indemnities etc. have no effect 6
9. Regulations 6
page i
124--2
Western Australia
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
(As amended in Committee)
Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
A Bill for
An Act --
• to protect certain volunteers from incurring civil liability when
doing community work on a voluntary basis;
• to provide that community organisations that organise
community work to be done by volunteers may incur the civil
liability from which the volunteers are protected when doing
that work,
and for related purposes.
The Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Volunteers (Protection from
Liability) Act 2002.
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Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
s. 2
2. Commencement
(1) This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by
proclamation.
(2) Different days may be fixed under subsection (1) for different
5 provisions.
3. Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears --
"community organisation" means --
(a) a State agency or instrumentality or a department of
10 the Public Service; or
(b) an incorporated association under the Associations
Incorporation Act 1987, a local government or other
body corporate,
that organises the doing of community work by volunteers;
15 "community work" means work organised by a community
organisation to be done --
(a) for a religious, educational, charitable or benevolent
purpose;
(b) for the purpose of promoting or encouraging
20 literature, science or the arts;
(c) for the purpose of sport, recreation or amusement;
(d) for the purpose of caring for, treating or otherwise
assisting people who need assistance because of a
physical or mental disability or condition;
25 (e) for the purpose of conserving or protecting the
environment;
(f) for the purpose of promoting or preserving historical
or cultural heritage;
(g) for the purpose of establishing, carrying on, or
30 improving a community, social or cultural centre;
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Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
s. 4
(h) for the purpose of promoting the interests of a local
community;
(i) for a political purpose;
(j) for any other purpose approved under section 4(1)(f)
5 of the Associations Incorporation Act 1987; or
(k) for a purpose prescribed by the regulations,
but does not include work of a kind that is prescribed by
the regulations as work that is not to be regarded as
community work for the purposes of this Act;
10 "organised" includes directed and supervised;
"volunteer" has the meaning given by section 4.
(2) A reference in this Act to the doing of anything by a volunteer
includes a reference to the omission by a volunteer to do
anything.
15 4. Meaning of "volunteer"
(1) In this Act --
"volunteer" means a person who does community work on a
voluntary basis but does not include a person who is --
(a) taken to be performing a function under an
20 emergency services Act within the meaning of
section 37(1a) of the Fire and Emergency Services
Authority of Western Australia Act 1998;
(b) performing a function as an honorary fisheries officer
within the meaning of the Fish Resources
25 Management Act 1994;
(c) performing a function as an honorary wildlife officer,
honorary forest officer, honorary ranger or honorary
conservation and land management officer within the
meaning of the Conservation and Land
30 Management Act 1984; or
(d) performing a function prescribed by the regulations.
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Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
s. 5
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person does community
work on a voluntary basis if the person --
(a) receives no remuneration for doing that work other
than --
5 (i) remuneration that the person would receive
whether or not the person did that work; or
(ii) the reimbursement of reasonable expenses
incurred by the person in doing that work;
or
10 (b) receives remuneration that is not greater than the
amount, if any, prescribed by the regulations.
(3) A person is not to be regarded as doing community work on a
voluntary basis if the person is doing that work under an order
imposed by a court.
15 5. Application
(1) This Act applies in relation to civil liability for a thing done by a
volunteer after the commencement of this Act.
(2) This Act does not limit the protection from liability given by
another written law.
20 6. Protection of volunteers from liability
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a volunteer does not incur
civil liability for anything that the volunteer has done in good
faith when doing community work.
(2) Subsection (1) does not affect any right to recover damages in
25 respect of defamation or in respect of the death of, or bodily
injury to, any person directly caused by, or by the driving of, a
motor vehicle if, at the time of the death or bodily injury --
(a) the vehicle was owned or being driven by a person who,
but for the operation of subsection (1), would incur
30 liability in respect of the death or injury; and
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Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
s. 7
(b) a contract of insurance --
(i) was, or was required to be, in force in respect of
the vehicle under section 4 of the Motor Vehicle
(Third Party Insurance) Act 1943; or
5 (ii) referred to in section 3(4) of that Act was in
force in respect of the vehicle.
(3) The protection given by subsection (1) does not apply to a
volunteer --
(a) who knew or ought reasonably to have known that at the
10 relevant time he or she was acting --
(i) outside the scope of the community work
organised by the community organisation; or
(ii) contrary to instructions given by the community
organisation;
15 or
(b) whose ability to do the community work in a proper
manner was, at the relevant time, significantly impaired
by alcohol or drugs.
(4) In this section --
20 "drugs" means drugs that are taken voluntarily otherwise than
for therapeutic purposes;
"motor vehicle" has the meaning given in section 3(1) of the
Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943.
7. Liability of community organisations
25 (1) A community organisation incurs the civil liability that, but for
the operation of section 6(1), a volunteer would incur for a thing
done by the volunteer when doing community work organised
by the community organisation.
(2) The operation of subsection (1) is subject to any protection from
30 liability that would have applied to the community organisation
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Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Bill 2002
s. 8
if the thing done by the volunteer had been done by the
community organisation.
(3) If more than one community organisation is involved in
organising the community work referred to in subsection (1),
5 that subsection applies to the community organisation that
principally organises, or the community organisations that
principally organise, that work.
(4) Liability that would be incurred under subsection (1) by a
community organisation that is a State agency, if the State
10 agency were a body corporate, is incurred by the State.
(5) In subsection (4) --
"State agency" means --
(a) a State agency or instrumentality that is not a body
corporate; or
15 (b) a department of the Public Service.
8. Certain indemnities etc. have no effect
An agreement, undertaking or arrangement has no effect to the
extent that it provides for a volunteer to give a community
organisation an indemnity against, or to make a contribution to a
20 community organisation in relation to, a liability that --
(a) the volunteer would incur but for the operation of
section 6(1); and
(b) the community organisation incurs under section 7(1).
9. Regulations
25 The Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters that
are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are
necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the
purposes of this Act.
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