AVicarious Liability under Australian Law Vicarious liability in tort imposes strict liability upon a defendant for the negligence or intentional wrongdoing of another in the absence of fault by the defendant. Under current law in Australia, there are two important inquiries in the application of vicarious liability, both of which can give rise to difficulties for survivors. One is establishing a relevant relationship between the abuser and defendant, most commonly an employment relationship. Here there is a further inquiry, which is whether the impugned act was done ‘in the course of employment’. This inquiry is used to establish the sufficiency of the connection between the tortious conduct and the employment to justify imposing vicarious liability.
