Tazleem v Certain Underwriters at Lloyds Listed in Annexure “A”

[2026] NSWSC 124

Supreme Court of NSW

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017 (NSW)
3. › substitution of public liability insurer and workers compensation insurer in circumstances where alleged tortfeasors are respectively in liquidation and deregistered
1. Negligence
2. › workplace injury
3. › worker injured at industrial premises when excavator bucket detached from forklift tines
4. › breach of duty conceded by both defendants subject to first defendant’s reliance on insurance policy excluding liability for employees
5. › identification of true employer
6. › whether worker an employee or supplied under labour hire agreement
7. › assessment of contributory negligence
1. Insurance
2. › amount recoverable from insurer limited to the amount of indemnity payable under the contract of insurance
3. › Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017 (NSW), ss 4 and 7
4. › damages against first defendant reduced by excess payable under the contract of insurance

Quick Take

Practitioners advising on labour hire arrangements must ensure that public liability insurers cannot rely on employee exclusion clauses where the contractual framework between the host and labour hire company establishes automatic employment by the labour hire entity; payment of wages, workers compensation acceptance, and the terms of the labour hire agreement are strong indicia of employment even where the host conducted recruitment. Additionally, a s 66A WCA Complying Agreement incorporating a particular injury can estop the workers compensation insurer from denying causation of that injury, potentially creating asymmetric damages assessments against co-defendants.