What You Should Know About Liability for Injuries Caused by Dogs at Home and at Large

Peter K. Hennessy

Abstract

The law relating to liability of dogs for injuries to others has ancient origins in the law. The common law divided animals into two classes : "dangerous" and "harmless". Dogs have been generally classified as harmless animals and in order for a person who kept a dog to be liable for an injury inflicted, the person needed to know from past conduct that the dog was likely to behave in a vicious way. As well as this action (known as scienter) for injuries caused by a harmless dog, the common law also allows for actions to be brought for negligence or nuisance for harm inflicted by a dog. Most states of Australia now have legislation relating to the ownership and control of dogs. Queensland is the only state that relies exclusively on the common law. In general terms the owner or person in control of the dog may be subject to both criminal and civil liability for any injuries that the dog inflicts. In New South Wales, however, liability does not extend to an injury suffered on land on which the dog is ordinarily kept. Both a comprehensive registration scheme for dogs and common rules for liability for injuries caused by dogs, whether on private or public land, would appear to be desirable.

About the author

Peter K. Hennessy LLB BEc
Executive Director
New South Wales Law Reform Commission
GPO Box 5199
SYDNEY
AUSTRALIA 2001
Phone (02)252 3855
Fax (02)247 1054

Peter Hennessy is the Executive Director of the New South Wales Law Reform Commission. He has a law degree from the University of Western Australia and an Economics Degree from the Australian National University. For the past ten years he has worked in the area of law reform with the Australian and New South Wales Law Reform Commissions. He has been with the New South Wales Law Reform Commission for the past three years and is involved in all the Commissions current projects. The New South Wales Law Reform Commission during the 25 years of its operation has conducted two projects relevant to the liability of dogs. In 1970 it produced a report, "Civil Liability for Animals", and in 1988 a report, "Liability for Injuries Caused by Dogs".

Back to Urban Animal Management Conference Index

Back to Petnet