Today’s question is about the application of good Samaritan laws and the GoodSam App (see Crowd sourcing first aid (August 12, 2014) and Responding third parties to 000 ambulance calls (May 7, 2023)) in Queensland. My correspondent says:
I’m aware that there is no legislation protecting Mr Do Good in the event they assist someone in need of aid and that the Civil Liabilities act would only protect Mr Do Good if they were a member of a named organisation in the included schedules (1&2?).
QAS have been holding off on rolling out a GoodSAM program due to these concerns however, could it be rolled out in a limited capacity, in a similar way AV trailed it, by only allowing members of those named organisations to sign up? (Eg SES, QAS, SLSQ, BCC, VMR, etc). Would they be protected by the civil liabilities act if they responded to a GoodSAM notification whilst off-duty from their organisation?
In Queensland there is no good Samaritan legislation as it is understood in the other states. Part 1, Division 7 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (Qld) is titled ‘Enhancement of Public Safety’ rather than ‘good Samaritan’. Section 26(1) says:
Civil liability does not attach to a person in relation to an act done or omitted in the course of rendering first aid or other aid or assistance to a person in distress if:
(a) the first aid or other aid or assistance is given by the person while performing duties to enhance public safety for an entity prescribed under a regulation that provides services to enhance public safety; and
(b) the first aid or other aid or assistance is given in circumstances of emergency; and
(c) the act is done or omitted in good faith and without reckless disregard for the safety of the person in distress or someone else.
Critical for the application of this section is that ‘the first aid or other aid or assistance is given by the person while performing duties … for an entity prescribed under a regulation…’. The relevant regulation is the Civil Liability Regulation 2014 (Qld), r 4 and Schedule 1.
These provisions would apply to members of those organisations who agree to ‘sign up’ to the Good Sam App provided that the organisation of which they are a member accepted that they were turning out on behalf of that organisation, that is the organisation would have to accept that from the time they accepted the call they were ‘on duty for’ and responding as a member of that organisation. If they were considered ‘off duty’ – that is if the organisation said ‘it’s got nothing to do with us’ then s 26(1) would not apply.
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Australian Emergency Law 
Will create an interesting situation as I, as a Victorian “registered” GoodSam was alerted to an emergency while in NZ as they use the same ‘parent’ application as Victoria does and thus I appeared in the map when the job came up. How QAS “exclude” people like me as I am sure CFA is not one of the entities prescribed under their legislation
Hi Peter! I believe parent organisations such as QAS & AV can sort, select and notify specific groups of an incident. So they could initially send a notification to off duty staff, then to members of partner organisations and then finally to anyone in the area.
So can a member of the public who owns their own defibrillator respond to an emergency, provide cpr and defibrillation, without fear of legal consequences? Can they register on the GoodSAM app?
Yes, ‘a member of the public who owns their own defibrillator respond to an emergency, provide cpr and defibrillation, without fear of legal consequences’. As for whether they can register, that is a matter for the host organisation but when are registered it does ask if you have access to an AED
I am looking into becoming a level 1 trainer for the local AFL club. The course outline recommends that sports trainers become members of their association to cover public liability, product liability, professional indemnity, and personal accident coverage. I’m asking whether this position would still be covered under the Good Samaritan Law?
in which state?
Hi Michael,
Sorry, Its Queensland.
David
Queensland is the exception to the good Samaritan rules. The rules in Queensland apply only to members of listed organisations when on duty for those organisations. The AFL is not a listed organisation so no, the good Samaritan laws (such as they are) in Queensland will not apply.