An Act relating to the Liability of the Commonwealth and
Commonwealth Authorities in respect of Death or Personal Injury caused by, or
arising out of the use of, certain Motor Vehicles
1
Short title [see
Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the Commonwealth
Motor Vehicles (Liability) Act 1959.
2
Commencement [see
Note 1]
This Act shall come into operation on
the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.
3
Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary
intention appears:
Commonwealth authority means:
(a) a body corporate incorporated for
a public purpose by a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory other than the
Northern Territory; or
(b) a
body corporate that is declared by the regulations to be a Commonwealth
authority for the purposes of this Act;
but does not include the Northern Territory or an
incorporated company or association.
driver, in relation to a motor vehicle,
includes a person in charge of the motor vehicle.
lease, in relation to a motor vehicle, means
any agreement or arrangement under which the vehicle (whether for any or no
consideration) is made available exclusively to a person for the person’s use.
motor vehicle means a motor car, motor
carriage, motor cycle, motor omnibus, motor tractor or other vehicle propelled
wholly or partly by volatile spirit or by steam, gas, oil or electricity or by
any means other than human or animal power, and includes a trailer and a semi‑trailer
but does not include a vehicle used on a railway or tramway.
third‑party policy means a policy of
insurance effected for the purposes of, and in accordance with the requirements
of, a law of a State or Territory relating to the compulsory insurance of
owners and drivers of motor cars or motor vehicles, as defined by that law,
against liability in respect of the death of, or bodily injury to, persons.
uninsured motor vehicle means a motor vehicle
in respect of which a third‑party policy is not in force.
(2) This Act does not apply in relation to proceedings
arising out of an occurrence that took place outside Australia and the
Territories.
4
Extension of Act to Territories
This Act extends to all the Territories.
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Conclusive presumption of agency in respect of driving of Commonwealth vehicles
(1) In proceedings in which:
(a) a claim is made against the
Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority for damages in respect of the death
of, or personal injury to, a person caused by, or arising out of the use of, an
uninsured motor vehicle owned by, or leased to, the Commonwealth or the
Commonwealth authority; or
(b) a
claim is made by or against the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority for
contribution in relation to liability of the Commonwealth or the Commonwealth
authority for such damages;
the driver of the vehicle shall, for the purposes of that
claim, be conclusively presumed to have been at all relevant times, with
respect to the driving of the vehicle, the agent of the Commonwealth or the
Commonwealth authority, as the case may be, acting within the scope of his or
her authority.
(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply if, at
all relevant times:
(a) the vehicle was registered; or
(b) a motor vehicle licence was in
force in respect of the vehicle;
under a law of a State or Territory.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be taken to
imply ratification by the Commonwealth or the Commonwealth authority of the
acts of the driver of a vehicle.
(3) This section extends to proceedings
arising out of an occurrence that took place before the commencement of this
Act but after the eighth day of September, One thousand nine hundred and fifty‑eight,
whether the proceedings were instituted before, or are instituted after, the
commencement of this Act.
6
Manner of trial of proceedings against the Commonwealth etc. in respect of
uninsured vehicles
Where, in proceedings in a Court of a
State or Territory, a claim is made against the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth
authority for damages in respect of the death of, or personal injury to, a
person caused by, or arising out of the use of, an uninsured motor vehicle, the
question whether the claim shall be tried with or without a jury is to be
determined in accordance with the law that would be applicable, in proceedings
in that Court, in the case of a like claim against the owner of a vehicle in
respect of which there was in force a third‑party policy effected for the
purposes of, and in accordance with the requirements of, the law of that State
or Territory.
7
Regulations
The Governor‑General may make
regulations declaring a body corporate, being a body corporate incorporated for
a public purpose by a law of the Northern Territory, to be a Commonwealth
authority for the purposes of this Act.