{"id":"dust-diseases-act-2005","name":"Dust Diseases Act 2005","slug":"dust-diseases-act-2005","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":31925,"registerId":"sa-dust-diseases-act-2005-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Dust Diseases Act 2005","content":"South Australia\nDust Diseases Act 2005\nAn Act to provide more expeditious remedies for those suffering from disabilities resulting from exposure to dust; and for other purposes.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tObject of this Act\n4A\tJurisdiction of SAET\n5\tExpeditious hearing and determination of dust disease actions\n7\tCosts\n8\tEvidentiary presumptions and special rules of evidence and procedure\n9\tDamages\n10\tProcedure where several defendants or insurers involved\n11\tDust disease action may be brought directly against insurer in certain cases\n11A\tRight of appeal from SAET\n12\tRegulations\nSchedule 1—Transitional provision\nPart 4—Transitional provision\n4\tTransitional provision\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Dust Diseases Act 2005.\n3—Interpretation\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\ndefendant includes a third-party against whom contribution is sought;\ndust disease means one or more of the following:\n\t(a)\tasbestosis;\n\t(b)\tasbestos induced carcinoma;\n\t(c)\tasbestos related pleural disease;\n\t(d)\tmesothelioma;\n\t(e)\tany other disease or pathological condition resulting from exposure to asbestos dust;\ndust disease action means a civil action in which the plaintiff—\n\t(a)\tclaims damages for or in relation to a dust disease or the death of a person as a result of a dust disease; and\n\t(b)\tasserts that the dust disease was wholly or partly attributable to a breach of duty owed to the person who suffered the disease by another person;\ninjured person means a person who is suffering from, or who has suffered from, a dust disease;\nSAET means the South Australian Employment Tribunal established under the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014.\n4—Object of this Act\nThe object of this Act is to ensure that residents of this State who claim rights of action for, or in relation to, dust diseases have access to procedures that are expeditious and unencumbered by unnecessary formalities of an evidentiary or procedural kind.\n4A—Jurisdiction of SAET\n\t(1)\tSAET has jurisdiction to hear and determine proceedings in relation to dust disease actions.\n\t(2)\tThe jurisdiction under subsection (1) is assigned to the South Australian Employment Court.\n\t(3)\tProceedings for any tortfeasor liable in respect of damages for or in relation to a dust disease or the death of a person as a result of a dust disease to recover contribution from any other tortfeasor liable in respect of that damage may be brought before SAET and dealt with by the South Australian Employment Court.\n\t(4)\tIf a cause of action giving rise to proceedings brought under subsection (1) or (3) also gives rise to a claim in respect of some other matter, the claim may be included in those proceedings even though it does not relate to a dust disease.\n\t(5)\tAny matter that is ancillary or related to a matter that is the subject of proceedings brought under a preceding subsection may also be included in those proceedings.\n5—Expeditious hearing and determination of dust disease actions\nThe District Court or SAET (as the case may be) will give the necessary directions to ensure that dust disease actions have priority over less urgent cases and are dealt with as expeditiously as the proper administration of justice allows.\n7—Costs\n\t(1)\tCosts of proceedings in dust disease actions before the District Court will be allowed or awarded on the same basis as for other actions in the District Court.\n\t(1a)\tCosts of proceedings in dust disease actions before SAET will be allowed or awarded on the same basis as for actions in the District Court.\n\t(2)\tHowever, if the District Court or SAET considers it appropriate, costs of an action that falls within the jurisdictional limits of the Magistrates Court may be allowed or awarded on the same basis as for a civil action in the Magistrates Court.\n8—Evidentiary presumptions and special rules of evidence and procedure\n\t(1)\tIf it is established in a dust disease action that a person (the injured person)—\n\t(a)\tsuffers or suffered from a dust disease; and\n\t(b)\twas exposed to asbestos dust in circumstances in which the exposure might have caused or contributed to the disease,\nit will be presumed, in the absence of proof to the contrary, that the exposure to asbestos dust caused or contributed to the injured person's dust disease.\n\t(2)\tA person who, at a particular time, carried on a prescribed industrial or commercial process that could have resulted in the exposure of another to asbestos dust will be presumed, in the absence of proof to the contrary, to have known at the relevant time that exposure to asbestos dust could result in a dust disease.\n\t(3)\tThe following rules apply in a dust disease action before the District Court or SAET:\n\t(a)\tthe relevant court may admit evidence admitted in an earlier dust disease action against the same defendant (including in a dust disease action brought in a court or tribunal of the Commonwealth or another State or Territory);\n\t(b)\tthe relevant court may dispense with proof of any matter that appears to the court to be not seriously in dispute;\n\t(c)\tthe relevant court may invite a party to admit facts of a formal nature, or facts that are peripheral to the major issues in dispute, and may, if the party declines to do so, award the costs of proving those facts against the party.\n\t(4)\tIf—\n\t(a)\ta finding of fact has been made in a dust disease action by a court of this State, or a court or tribunal of the Commonwealth or another State or Territory; and\n\t(b)\tthe finding is, in the District Court's or SAET's opinion, of relevance to an action before it under this Act,\nthe District Court or SAET (as the case may be) may admit the finding in evidence and indicate to the parties that it proposes to make a corresponding finding in the case presently before it unless the party who would be adversely affected satisfies the District Court or SAET (as the case may be) that such a finding is inappropriate to the circumstances of the present case.\n9—Damages\n\t(1)\tIf it is proved or admitted in a dust disease action that an injured person may, at some time in the future, develop another dust disease wholly or partly as a result of the breach of duty giving rise to the cause of action, the District Court or SAET (as the case may be) may—\n\t(a)\taward, in the first instance, damages for the dust disease assessed on the assumption that the injured person will not develop another dust disease; and\n\t(b)\taward damages at a future date if the injured person does develop another dust disease.\n\t(2)\tThe District Court or SAET (as the case may be) should make an award of exemplary damages in each case against a defendant if it is satisfied that the defendant—\n\t(a)\tknew that the injured person was at risk of exposure to asbestos dust, or carried on a prescribed industrial or commercial process that resulted in the injured person's exposure to asbestos dust; and\n\t(b)\tknew, at the time of the injured person's exposure to asbestos dust, that exposure to asbestos dust could result in a dust disease.\n\t(3)\tDespite any other Act or law, the District Court or SAET (as the case may be) must, when determining damages in a dust disease action, compensate, as a separate head of damage, any loss or impairment of the injured person's capacity to perform domestic services for another person.\nNote—\nThis subsection is intended to restore the effect of Sullivan v Gordon (1999) 47 NSWLR 319.\n10—Procedure where several defendants or insurers involved\nThe District Court or SAET (as the case may be) will determine questions of liability and quantum of liability to the plaintiff before dealing with questions of contribution between defendants or insurers unless, in the opinion of the District Court or SAET (as the case may be), any delay resulting from dealing with the questions together is inconsequential in the circumstances.\n11—Dust disease action may be brought directly against insurer in certain cases\n\t(1)\tIf the defendant to a dust disease action—\n\t(a)\tis dead or has been dissolved; or\n\t(b)\tis insolvent; or\n\t(c)\tcannot be found,\na dust disease action that might have been brought against the defendant (the absent defendant) may be brought instead directly against an insurer who insured the defendant against a liability to which the action relates.\n\t(2)\tAn insurer against whom an action is brought under subsection (1) has the same rights, powers, duties and liabilities in relation to the action as the absent defendant would have had if the action had been brought against the absent defendant.\n\t(3)\tThe extent of the insurer's liability cannot, however, exceed the extent to which the insurer would have been liable to indemnify the absent defendant if the action had been brought against the absent defendant.\n11A—Right of appeal from SAET\nDespite Part 5 of the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014, an appeal against a decision of SAET in relation to a dust disease action (including in relation to any matter that is ancillary or related to a dust disease action that is the subject of the proceedings) lies—\n\t(a)\tin the case of an interlocutory order made by SAET—to the Supreme Court constituted of a single Judge; or\n\t(b)\tin any other case—to the Court of Appeal.\n12—Regulations\nThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.\nSchedule 1—Transitional provision\nPart 4—Transitional provision\n4—Transitional provision\n\t(1)\tThis Act (and the amendments made by this Act) apply to causes of action arising and actions commenced before or after the commencement of this Act.\n\t(2)\tHowever, subclause (1) does not apply to an action commenced before the commencement of this Act if the trial has commenced before the commencement of this Act.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tPlease note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.\n\t•\tEarlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation amended by principal Act\nThe Dust Diseases Act 2005 amended the following:\nCivil Liability Act 1936\nLimitation of Actions Act 1936\nSurvival of Causes of Action Act 1940\nPrincipal Act and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n2005\n78\nDust Diseases Act 2005\n8.12.2005\n8.2.2006: s 2\n2016\n63\nStatutes Amendment (South Australian Employment Tribunal) Act 2016\n8.12.2016\nPt 3 (ss 42—50)—1.7.2017 (Gazette 16.5.2017 p1221)\n2019\n45\nSupreme Court (Court of Appeal) Amendment Act 2019\n19.12.2019\nSch 1 (cl 41)—1.1.2021 (Gazette 10.12.2020 p5638)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n1.7.2017\ns 3\n\n\nSAET\ninserted by 63/2016 s 42\n1.7.2017\ns 4A\ninserted by 63/2016 s 43\n1.7.2017\ns 5\namended by 63/2016 s 44\n1.7.2017\ns 6\ndeleted by 63/2016 s 45\n1.7.2017\ns 7\n\n\ns 7(1a)\ninserted by 63/2016 s 46(1)\n1.7.2017\ns 7(2)\namended by 63/2016 s 46(2)\n1.7.2017\ns 8\n\n\ns 8(3)\namended by 63/2016 s 47(1)—(5)\n1.7.2017\ns 8(4)\nsubstituted by 63/2016 s 47(6)\n1.7.2017\ns 9\n\n\ns 9(1)\namended by 63/2016 s 48(1)\n1.7.2017\ns 9(2)\namended by 63/2016 s 48(2)\n1.7.2017\ns 9(3)\namended by 63/2016 s 48(1)\n1.7.2017\ns 10\namended by 63/2016 s 49(1), (2)\n1.7.2017\ns 11A\ninserted by 53/2016 s 50\n1.7.2017\n\namended by 45/2019 Sch 1 cl 41\n1.1.2021\nSch 1\n\n\nPts 1—3\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n1.7.2017\nHistorical versions\n1.7.2017\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"source":"grok-batch-everything"},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The legislation has expanded beyond its original 2005 focus on District Court procedures for expeditious dust disease claims to incorporate the South Australian Employment Tribunal's jurisdiction (s 4A), modified costs rules, expanded ancillary claim powers, and tailored appeal pathways to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, thereby broadening the institutional framework while retaining the core object of reducing evidentiary and procedural barriers."},"complexity_factors":["Layered evidentiary presumptions in s 8(1)–(4) that shift the burden of proof and allow admission of findings from prior actions in any Australian jurisdiction","Procedural sequencing rules in s 10 requiring liability and quantum to be decided before contribution claims","Future damages mechanism in s 9(1) combined with mandatory exemplary damages criteria in s 9(2)","Direct insurer liability provisions in s 11 that substitute the insurer as defendant with mirrored rights and capped liability","Jurisdictional overlay with the South Australian Employment Tribunal under s 4A and modified appeal rights in s 11A","Transitional application in Schedule 1 that applies the Act to both past and future causes of action with a narrow trial-commenced exception"],"plain_english_summary":"**The Dust Diseases Act 2005** makes it quicker and simpler for people in South Australia who suffer from dust-related illnesses (mainly those caused by asbestos) to claim compensation through the courts or tribunal.\n\nIt covers diseases such as asbestosis, mesothelioma, asbestos-related pleural disease, and any other condition caused by breathing in asbestos dust. The law sets out special shortcuts for these cases: it creates legal presumptions that the exposure caused the disease (unless the other side proves otherwise), allows evidence from previous similar cases to be reused, lets courts skip proving obvious facts, and requires these cases to be heard faster than ordinary ones.\n\nKey features include the ability to claim damages now for the current illness while keeping the right to claim more later if a second disease develops, mandatory exemplary (punitive) damages in some situations, and the option to sue an insurance company directly if the original company is insolvent, dead, dissolved or cannot be found. It also lets related claims (not just the dust disease) be heard together.\n\nThe Act affects workers, residents or others exposed to asbestos, their families, former employers, and their insurers. It matters because these diseases often appear decades after exposure, and without these rules many claims could get stuck in lengthy, expensive legal processes."},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative text was not successfully retrieved. No comparison between original intent and current provisions is possible from the data provided."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 error, making substantive analysis impossible","Only general contextual knowledge of dust diseases legislation can be applied, not the specific provisions of this Act","The complexity score reflects the inability to assess the actual legislation, not an assessment of the Act itself (which, based on comparable dust diseases statutes, would likely score 6-8 due to medical definitions, limitation periods, and multi-party liability frameworks)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What happened here?**\n\nThe link provided did not successfully retrieve the text of the *Dust Diseases Act 2005* (SA). Instead, it returned a **404 'Page Not Found' error** from the South Australian legislation website, likely because the URL was created before a website update on 24 March 2026 and is now broken.\n\n**What is known about the Act generally?**\n\nThe *Dust Diseases Act 2005* (SA) is South Australian legislation that deals with compensation and legal rights for people who develop serious lung diseases (such as asbestosis, silicosis, or mesothelioma) caused by exposure to industrial dust — typically in workplaces like mines, construction sites, or factories. It typically affects:\n- **Workers** who were exposed to harmful dust on the job\n- **Their families**, who may have rights to claim if a worker dies from a dust disease\n- **Employers and insurers** who may be liable for compensation\n\n**Why does it matter?**\n\nDust diseases are often fatal and can take decades to appear after exposure. This type of law is critical because it gives sick workers a legal pathway to get financial support, even when the exposure happened long ago or the responsible employer has since closed down.\n\n⚠️ **Important:** Because the actual legislative text could not be retrieved, **no detailed analysis of the specific provisions of this Act can be provided**. You should access the current version directly at [legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) by searching for the Act by name."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act’s institutional and procedural scope has been amended since the principal Act. The legislative history records insertion of SAET references and a jurisdictional assignment to the South Australian Employment Court (see s3 insertion of \"SAET\" and s4A inserted by Statutes Amendment (South Australian Employment Tribunal) Act 2016 (63/2016 s42–s43), commencement 1.7.2017). Evidence and procedure provisions, costs provisions, and damages wording were amended in 2016 (see notes for s7, s8, s9, s10) and an appeal provision (s11A) was inserted in 2016 and later amended (2019 amendment, Sch 1 cl 41). The Act now directs cases to SAET/South Australian Employment Court, specifies altered evidentiary and admission rules, adjusts cost rules, and defines appeal paths; these changes broadened and revised the original institutional and procedural framework. (See legislative history and the indicated amended sections.)"},"complexity_factors":["Specialised medical causation and future-disease assessment (s3 definition of dust disease; s9(1))","Evidentiary presumptions that shift burden and require rebuttal evidence (s8(1)–(2))","Interplay of multiple forums and assigned jurisdiction (District Court, SAET, South Australian Employment Court) and appeal routes (s4A, s5, s11A)","Rules permitting admission of prior evidence and foreign findings (s8(3)(a), s8(4)) which require cross-case factual analysis","Procedural sequencing between determining plaintiff liability and contribution between defendants/insurers (s10)","Direct actions against insurers with liability capped by indemnity limits (s11(1)–(3))","Discretionary court powers to dispense with proof, invite admissions, and award costs (s8(3)(b)–(c), s7)","Normative language on exemplary damages that requires judicial factual findings to trigger (s9(2))","Transitional application to pre-existing causes and proceedings, with a trial-start exception (Schedule 1, Part 4, cl 4(1)–(2))","Legislative amendments and reassignment of jurisdiction in history that change institutional arrangements (legislative history; see amendments inserting SAET and s4A)"],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does (mechanical change)\n\n- Establishes a streamlined legal regime for civil claims about illnesses caused by asbestos exposure (\"dust disease actions\"). (definitions: s3)\n- Gives the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) jurisdiction to hear these claims and assigns that jurisdiction to the South Australian Employment Court. The Act also allows related or ancillary claims to be heard together with a dust disease action. (s4A(1)–(5))\n- Directs courts to give dust disease cases priority and to manage them expeditiously. (s5)\n- Sets special evidentiary rules for dust disease actions: if a plaintiff proves they suffered a listed dust disease and was exposed to asbestos in circumstances that could have caused it, the court will presume that the exposure caused or contributed to the disease unless there is proof to the contrary; and employers/operators of prescribed processes are presumed to have known the risk unless they prove otherwise. The court may also admit evidence and findings from earlier dust disease cases and may dispense with proof of matters not seriously in dispute. (s8(1)–(4), s8(3)(a)–(c))\n- Provides rules on damages: courts may award damages initially on the assumption no further dust disease will develop and make further awards later if another disease develops; the court is to award exemplary damages where certain knowledge conditions are satisfied; and the court must separately compensate loss of capacity to perform domestic services. (s9(1)–(3))\n- Sets a process when multiple defendants or insurers are involved: the court will decide liability to the plaintiff first and deal with contribution issues between defendants or insurers afterward unless dealing with both together causes no consequential delay. (s10)\n- Allows a plaintiff to bring the action directly against an insurer if the defendant is dead, dissolved, insolvent, or cannot be found; the insurer has the absent defendant's rights and liabilities but only up to the insurer's indemnity limit. (s11(1)–(3))\n- Specifies how costs are to be awarded and permits courts to apply District Court or Magistrates Court cost rules in appropriate cases. (s7(1), s7(1a), s7(2))\n- Prescribes appeal routes from SAET for interlocutory orders and other decisions. (s11A)\n- Applies to causes of action and proceedings that arose or commenced before or after the Act’s commencement, with an exception for trials already underway when the Act began. (Schedule 1, Part 4, cl 4(1)–(2))\n\nOfficial rationale and the Act’s stated purpose\n\n- The Act states its object is to make sure South Australian residents who bring claims for dust diseases have access to procedures that are expeditious and not burdened by unnecessary evidentiary or procedural formalities. (s4)\n\nTesting that objective against costs, incentives, trade-offs and implementation mechanics (with statutory citations)\n\n- Who pays: Successful plaintiffs receive damages paid by defendants or their insurers. The Act allows direct suits against insurers where the defendant is absent, but caps insurer liability at the insurer’s indemnity limit (s11(1)–(3)). Courts may award exemplary damages against defendants meeting the statutory knowledge criteria (s9(2)). Costs may be ordered against parties in the usual way (s7).\n\n- Who decides and where: The District Court or SAET / South Australian Employment Court administers and manages these actions and prioritises them (s4A(1)–(2), s5). The Tribunal’s decisions have specified appeal pathways (s11A).\n\n- Burden and evidentiary shift: The statutory presumption that exposure caused or contributed to disease (s8(1)) and the presumption that operators of prescribed processes knew of the risk (s8(2)) shift the evidentiary burden toward defendants/insurers to prove otherwise. Mechanically, defendants must produce contrary proof or risk an adverse presumption (s8(1)–(2)).\n\n- Litigation efficiency tools and court discretion: The courts may admit evidence from earlier dust disease actions and findings made in other courts or tribunals (s8(3)(a), s8(4)), dispense with proof of matters not seriously in dispute (s8(3)(b)), and invite formal or peripheral admissions (s8(3)(c)). Those tools reduce repetition and proof burdens but give judges discretion about when to apply them.\n\n- Incentives and private-choice effects: The combination of presumptions and the ability to sue insurers directly where a defendant is absent (s11) increases the practical exposure of employers and insurers to claims; insurers remain limited to their contractual indemnity (s11(3)). Those mechanics change the risk profile for firms and insurers who face historical-exposure claims.\n\n- Trade-offs and opportunity costs: The statutory focus on speed and procedural flexibility (s4, s5, s8) promotes earlier resolution, but depends on court resources and judicial exercise of discretion (s5, s8). The Act requires courts to prioritise these cases (s5) but does not itself allocate resources; timely handling therefore depends on the administering courts’ capacity and case management choices.\n\n- Compliance and administrative burden: Defendants and insurers will need to assemble rebuttal evidence earlier, track prior findings or evidence from other jurisdictions, and prepare for expedited procedures and possible separate awards for future diseases (s8(3)(a), s9(1)).\n\n- Implementation risks and discretion points: The Act gives courts latitude to admit prior findings, dispense with proof, and invite admissions (s8(3)–(4)). These are implementation levers that can reduce duplication but require active judicial management. The provision that exemplary damages \"should\" be awarded when the knowledge conditions are met (s9(2)) places a normative expectation on judges but still requires judicial fact-finding to trigger such awards.\n\nSections to consult for primary mechanics: definitions and scope (s3), object (s4), SAET jurisdiction and assignment (s4A), expeditious hearing direction (s5), costs (s7), evidentiary presumptions and special procedural rules (s8), damages rules including future disease and domestic services (s9), procedure where multiple defendants or insurers are involved (s10), direct action against insurer (s11), appeals (s11A), transitional application (Schedule 1, Part 4, cl 4)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/dust-diseases-act-2005","history":"/api/acts/dust-diseases-act-2005/history","analysis":"/api/acts/dust-diseases-act-2005/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/dust-diseases-act-2005/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/dust-diseases-act-2005/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/dust-diseases-act-2005/documents"}}