Prince Alfred College Incorporated v ADC [2016] HCA 37

In Prince Alfred College Incorporated v ADC the High Court, in a decision handed down on 5 October 2016, considered whether a general principle or approach for determining whether an employer is vicariously liable in cases involving intentional wrongdoing could now be established, following the divergent approaches suggested 13 years ago by the former members of the court in New South Wales v Lepore.

In developing a new approach, the High Court again returned to the guidance offered in the seminal 1949 High Court case of Deatons Pty Ltd v Flew. The new approach requires us to consider any special role assigned to the employee and the position in which the employee is thereby placed in relation to the victim before determining whether the apparent performance of such a role gave rise to the occasion for the wrongful act. In that analysis particular features of the role may be taken into account, including authority, trust, power, control and the ability to achieve intimacy with the victim.