An occupier who engages an independent contractor to maintain premises discharges its delegable duty of care by exercising reasonable skill and care in the selection, contracting and monitoring of the contractor. A breach of that duty is actionable only if causative of the injury. Where the injury results from a singular act of carelessness by the contractor's employee occurring immediately before the incident, the occupier's failure to monitor the contractor's performance more closely will not be causative. The statutory duty under s 23 of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986 (SA) does not extend to singular acts of carelessness by an independent contractor's employee. Whether s 23 confers a private right of action remains an open question in South Australia.
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