Under the WA proportionate liability regime, a defendant cannot obtain declaratory relief against a concurrent wrongdoer as to proportionate responsibility because such a declaration would be abstract and hypothetical — the court is mandatorily required to have regard to the comparative responsibility of absent concurrent wrongdoers under s 5AK(3)(b). The Victorian authorities (Atkins, Cowan, Woods) permitting joinder of concurrent wrongdoers via counterclaim for declaratory relief do not apply in WA due to material differences in the legislation. The discretion under s 5AN(1) is to be exercised by reference to the interests of justice, having regard to the statutory scheme in Part 1F as a whole, and is not confined by the rules of court.
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