Oyston v St Patrick's College

The appeal concerned a claim by the appellant, Oyston, against St Patrick's College for psychiatric harm allegedly suffered as a result of bullying and harassment by other students during his time at the school. The primary judge had found that the College breached its duty of care towards Oyston. The appeal to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales raised questions about whether the College was aware of the bullying and whether its bullying policies were inadequately implemented.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge had erred in finding that the College breached its duty of care to Oyston. This involved determining whether the College had actual or constructive knowledge of the bullying and harassment experienced by Oyston, and whether the College's response and the implementation of its policies were reasonable in the circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm.

The Court of Appeal did not determine the substantive issues of liability or damages. Instead, it directed that the appeal be referred to the Registrar for the purpose of fixing a date for the hearing of the outstanding issues of causation, damages, and costs. This indicates that the appeal was proceeding, but the final determination of these matters was yet to occur.