EMPLOYER NOT LIABLE FOR TORT OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

Sweeney v Boylan Nominees Pty Ltd [2006] BLR 440

The High Court of Australia in Sweeney v Boylan Nominees Pty Ltd [2006] BLR 440 affirmed the existence of the general rule that an employer is not vicariously liable in law for the torts committed by an independent contractor it has employed. The distinction between an employee, for whose torts the employer is vicariously liable provided that they are committed in the course of employment, and an independent contractor, where no general liability arises, thus remains of critical significance in the law.