Fitzpatrick v Lifetime Support Authority

In *Fitzpatrick v Lifetime Support Authority*, the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia considered whether amendments to the Lifetime Support Scheme (LSS) and related legislation retrospectively affected a plaintiff's accrued rights. The plaintiff sought to claim damages for the cost of future care, a head of damage that was subsequently precluded by the amended rules.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the plaintiff possessed an accrued right to damages for future care at the time the amending rules came into effect, and if so, whether the amending legislation evinced a clear intention to displace the common law and statutory presumptions against retrospective operation. The plaintiff argued that the commencement of the 2017 Rules abrogated an established right to claim damages for future care costs, invoking provisions of the *Acts Interpretation Act 1915* (SA) and common law principles.

The court reasoned that the plaintiff had not accrued any right to an award of damages for the costs of future care at the time the 2017 Rules were promulgated. It held that this head of damage inherently depended on future events and transactions, and therefore, the application of the 2017 Rules and section 58A of the *Civil Liability Act 2002* (SA) only had the potential to affect claims for costs yet to be incurred. The court found that no accrued right to damages for past losses was affected, and in any event, there was a clear contrary intention within the legislation. Consequently, the common law presumption against retrospective operation, as enshrined in section 16(1)(c) of the *Acts Interpretation Act 1915* (SA) and the principle in *Maxwell v Murphy*, did not operate to preserve the plaintiff's claim.