AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Greg Williams, Alexandra Rose, Caitlin Sheehy and Sarah Aljassim, Clayton Utz
produces, processes or assembles goods), but also: • a person who causes or permits their name (or a name by which the person carries on business or a brand or mark of the person) to be applied to the goods; • a person who causes or permits themselves to be held out as the manufacturer of the goods; and • a person who imports the goods into Aus - tralia (if the actual manufacturer of the goods does not have a place of business in Aus - tralia). Contract Another cause of action for a person who has been injured or who has suffered loss or dam - age is under the law of contract. However, the number of these claims has diminished owing to the growth of statutory remedies and remedies available under the tort of negligence. 2.2 Standing to Bring Product Liability Claims Under the Australian regime, the original pur - chaser is not the only person who may make a claim for injuries caused by a product. Apart from the remedies available for breach of con - sumer guarantees, which may only be sought by the consumer who received the goods from the supplier, the other causes of action outlined in 2.1 Product Liability Causes of Action and Sources of Law may be relied upon by any per - son who suffers loss and damage that is com - pensable under the relevant cause of action. 2.3 Time Limits for Product Liability Claims The limitation period for bringing a product liabil - ity claim depends on a number of factors, includ - ing the cause of action, the type of claim (eg, in
relation to an alleged safety defect), whether the claim is brought under common law or statute, the relevant Australian jurisdiction, and the date of the alleged act or omission. However, in relation to claims for personal injury, the applicable limitation period for an action to be commenced is: • in most jurisdictions, either within three years of the date the cause of action is discoverable by the plaintiff (the date of discoverability) or 12 years from the date of the act or omission alleged to have caused the death or injury (the long-stop period); or • three years from the date the cause of action accrued. There may also be a mechanism for an exten - sion to be granted by the courts in relation to the applicable limitation period for personal injury claims. In determining whether to grant an extension, a court is generally required to consider a number of factors, including having regard to the justice of the case. Again, in most jurisdictions an extension of up to three years can be granted. There are also circumstances in which limitation periods are suspended, such as: • where a claimant is suffering from a legal incapacity (eg, the claimant is a minor or suf - fers from a mental or physical disability); or • when a class action is commenced ‒ in which case, the limitation period will not begin to run again until a group member opts out or the proceedings are determined. The limitation period for claims that do not relate to personal injury is, in most cases, six years from when the cause of action accrued.
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