Head Contractors Can Breathe A Sigh Of Relief

In a recent landmark decision, the High Court has determined that head contractors have no common law duty of care to train their subcontractors in the safe methods of carrying out their respective specialist tasks. In making this finding, the High Court accepted the view that while the head contractor, Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd (Leighton), as occupier of the site owed the usual duties to site entrants consistent with the principle of occupier's liability, that duty of care did not extend to taking positive steps to prevent a subcontractor on that site from suffering injury as a result of the subcontractor's own negligence in undertaking the specialised task it was engaged to carry out.