Farrah Hadba by her next friend and father Nouhad Hadba v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn (As St Anthony's Primary School)

The appeal concerned a negligence claim brought by an eight-year-old child, Farrah Hadba, through her father, against the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, trading as St Anthony's Primary School. The dispute arose from injuries sustained by Farrah when she was pulled from a flying fox in the school playground by another student. The primary judge had found the school not negligent.

The central legal issue before the appellate court was whether the school had breached its duty of care to adequately supervise the use of the flying fox in the playground. This involved considering the competing demands on supervision within the school environment and the standard of care expected of a school authority in such circumstances. The appellate court also had to determine the scope of its review on an appeal from a finding of no negligence by the primary judge.

The appellate court allowed the appeal, finding that the primary judge had erred in their assessment of the evidence regarding supervision. The court reasoned that the school's duty of care extended to ensuring reasonable supervision of playground equipment like the flying fox, and that the evidence did not support the conclusion that such supervision was adequate. The competing demands on supervision were a relevant consideration, but they did not absolve the school of its responsibility to implement appropriate measures to mitigate foreseeable risks. The court ultimately concluded that the school had failed to discharge its duty of care.