Harding v University of New South Wales (No 2)

The case of Harding v University of New South Wales (No 2) concerned a dispute between Mr Harding and the University of New South Wales. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, comprising Heydon and Hodgson JJA and Young CJ in Eq.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the University had breached its duty of care to Mr Harding, a student, by failing to take reasonable steps to prevent him from suffering psychiatric injury. This involved considering the foreseeability of the harm, the seriousness of the risk, and the burden of taking precautions. The court also had to determine whether the University's actions, or omissions, were causative of Mr Harding's psychiatric injury.

The court reasoned that while a university owes a duty of care to its students, this duty is not absolute and does not extend to preventing all harm. The University's duty was to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm. The court found that the psychiatric injury suffered by Mr Harding was not a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the events that occurred, and therefore, the University had not breached its duty of care. The principles of negligence, particularly the assessment of foreseeability and the reasonableness of precautions, were central to the court's determination.

The appeal was dismissed, with the court upholding the decision of the primary judge.