Parkes Shire Council v South West Helicopters Pty Limited

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal concerning the liability of an air carrier, Parkes Shire Council, for damages arising from a helicopter crash. The dispute involved claims brought by the widow, daughter, and son of a passenger who died in the crash. These claimants sought damages in tort for negligently inflicted psychiatric harm. The core of the disagreement centred on whether these claims were precluded by the *Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959* (Cth) (the Act), specifically Part IV, which governs carrier liability.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the claimants' tortious claims for negligently inflicted psychiatric harm were encompassed by section 35(2) of the Act, which substitutes liability under section 28 for any other civil liability of a carrier in respect of the death of a passenger. Consequently, the court had to determine if these claims, brought outside the time limit prescribed by section 34 of the Act, were therefore extinguished.

The High Court, in dismissing the appeal, reasoned that the Act, particularly Part IV, was intended to be a complete code for claims by passengers. However, it did not intend to encompass claims by non-passengers for psychiatric harm. The court affirmed the decision at first instance, which had followed the Full Court of the Federal Court's reasoning in *South Pacific Air Motive Pty Ltd v Magnus*. This reasoning distinguished between the carrier's duty to passengers and its duty to non-passengers, concluding that the duty owed to a non-passenger to avoid causing nervous shock is independent of the carrier's duty to a passenger. Therefore, claims for psychiatric harm by non-passengers were considered to fall outside the ambit of section 35(2) and were not subject to the time limitations imposed by section 34 of the Act. Section 37 of the Act, which preserves principles of indemnity or contribution, was also noted as tending to confirm that section 28's liability could extend to third parties.

The appeal was dismissed, and Parkes Shire Council was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of and incidental to the appeal.