The s 43A immunity under the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) applies to a road authority's failure to install traffic signs on public roads, as such installation involves the exercise of a special statutory power. The immunity is not defeated merely because the authority did not consider exercising the power. The threshold for overcoming the immunity requires proof that no authority having the special statutory power could properly consider the omission to be a reasonable failure to exercise its power — a standard higher than ordinary negligence under s 5B. Expert opinion evidence on the meaning of Australian Standards is inadmissible as it constitutes opinion on a question of law or on the ultimate issue of negligence.
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