Vicarious liability for independent contractors revisited: Sweeney v Boylan Nominees Pty Ltd

The High Court has again considered the question of possible vicarious liability for the acts of independent contractors. While it has maintained the authority of a well-established exception to the usual rule of no liability, it has rejected the idea of a general principle of liability. It is suggested that if there is to be vicarious liability only for employees and not contractors, then the notion of 'employee' may need to be revisited.