Last week, the High Court refused special leave to appeal in Townsville City Council vs Vatsonic Communications Pty Ltd and Ors (2005) HCA Disp 9 B58/2024. In its decision, the High Court stated that the proposed appeal does not raise any point of general principle and did not have sufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave to appeal.
This landmark pronouncement by the High Court concerns the enforceability of a third party’s contractual indemnity asserted against an employer in an injured worker’s claim for damages brought under for Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) (WCRA).
The consequence of the High Court’s decision to decline special leave to appeal is that the unanimous decision previously arrived at by Queensland’s Court of Appeal in Bilson vs Vatsonic Communications Pty Ltd (2024) QCA 171 stands.
In its judgment, Queensland’s Court of Appeal held that:
- section 236B of the WCRA provides that WorkCover Queensland is not required to indemnify an insured employer for liability arising under a contractual indemnity between the employer and the third party; and
- section 236B further provides that an agreement between an employer and a third party is void to the extent it requires the employer to indemnify the third party.
The High Court’s decision to deny special leave in this case will be welcome news for employers in Queensland as it confirms employers, subject to WorkCover claims involving multiple respondents, are not exposed to financial liability arising under contractual indemnities found in commercial agreements they have entered with other respondents joined to the claim.