Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998

Subject to subsection (2), a person does not incur civil liability for anything that the person has done, in good faith, in the performance or purported performance of a function under the emergency services Acts.

Without limiting subsection (1) a person is taken to be performing a function under an emergency services Act if the person is —

a member or officer of a private fire brigade or a volunteer fire brigade who is taking part in an activity carried out by the brigade for the purposes for which it was formed; or

a volunteer fire fighter who is carrying out normal brigade activities (within the meaning of the Bush Fires Act 1954); or

taking part in the performance by an SES Unit of its functions under Part 3A and is either —

a member of the SES Unit; or

acting under the direction of a member of the SES Unit or a member of staff;

taking part in the performance by a VMRS Group of its functions under Part 3B and is either —

a member of the VMRS Group; or

acting under the direction of a member of the VMRS Group or a member of staff;

taking part in the performance by a FES Unit of its functions under Part 3 and is either —

a member of the FES Unit; or

acting under the direction of a member of the FES Unit or a member of staff.

Subsection (1) does not affect any right to recover damages in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person directly caused by, or by the driving of, a motor vehicle if, at the time of the death or bodily injury —

the vehicle was owned or was being driven by a person who, but for subsection (1), would incur liability in respect of the death or injury; and

there was in force in respect of the vehicle a contract of insurance in accordance with section 4 of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 or the corresponding legislation of a State or Territory prescribed for the purposes of section 3(4) of that Act.

The Crown, a local government and any other person are also relieved of any civil liability that any of them might otherwise have had for another person having done anything as described in subsection (1).

The protection given by this section applies even though the thing done in the performance or purported performance of a function under the emergency services Acts may have been capable of being done whether or not those Acts had been enacted.

Any damage, loss or injury to property that results from anything done, in good faith, in the performance or purported performance of a function under the emergency services Acts is taken to be damage by fire within the meaning of any policy of insurance covering that property against damage by fire, despite any clause or condition to the contrary contained in the policy.

In this section —

a reference to the doing of anything includes a reference to the omission to do anything; and

motor vehicle has the meaning given in section 3(1) of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943.