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assisting in the demolition of a shed at the rear of the club’s
premises. Mr Hrybynyuk commenced proceedings against
Mr Mazur on the basis that, as president of the Russian Club,
he owed him a duty of care in relation to the demolition work
in which he had requested Mr Hrybynyuk’s assistance.
The New South Wales Court of Appeal held that membership
of an unincorporated association does not, of itself, give
rise to a duty of care to other members of the association.
However, by taking on the task of arranging the demolition
of the sheds on the club’s premises, Mr Mazur owed
Mr Hrybynyuk a duty of care. This duty arose on the basis
of ordinary principles of negligence whether the case was
considered in relation to any duty arising from Mr Mazur’s
role as a committee member or a duty owed to Mr Hrybynyuk
as a volunteer.
MANAGING THE RISKS
As seen in Haynes and Hrybynyuk, where office bearers
in unincorporated associations have the ability to control
potential risks such as the maintenance of playing fields,
setting up club grounds for competition or enlisting club
members to assist with work at a club’s premises, they could
potentially be exposed to liability to persons from outside the
club or their own club members.
In relation to risks to participants arising from the condition
of playing fields, the risk can be addressed through a
documented system of regular inspections (see Touchline 7
– Focus on risk management). Unincorporated associations,
particularly local sporting clubs, may have a limited budget
and be dependent upon volunteers drawn from the ranks
of their members to assist with maintenance issues at the
Club’s premises. However, the events considered by the
Court in Hrybynyuk illustrate the need for an association’s
office bearers to give consideration to whether the work is
more appropriately conducted by an external tradesperson
or, at the very least, whether the association can provide
adequate warnings and supervision to its volunteers
undertaking potentially hazardous maintenance tasks.
Such measures may help reduce the risk of claims arising.
However, unincorporated associations should also review
their insurance arrangements to assess whether their
policies will respond to the risk by providing cover for the
association’s office bearers in the event of such claims
arising. The policy wording, particularly the definitions of the
risks being insured against and the insured persons should
also be reviewed to ensure that they meet the needs of the
club and its office holders.
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touchline
29
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