{"id":"volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002","name":"Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002","slug":"volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":110962,"registerId":"wa-volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nVolunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002\n\nWestern Australia\n\nVolunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Terms used in this Act 2\n\n4. “Volunteer”, meaning of 4\n\n5. Application 5\n\nPart 2 — Protection of volunteers from liability\n\n6. Protection of volunteers from liability 6\n\n7. Liability of community organisations 7\n\n8. Certain volunteers’ indemnities etc. have no effect 7\n\nPart 3 — Protection of food donors and grocery product donors from liability\n\n8A. Protection of donors of food and grocery products from liability 9\n\nPart 4 — Regulations\n\n9. Regulations 11\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 12\n\nUncommenced provisions table 12\n\nOther notes 13\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nVolunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002\n\nAn Act —\n\n• to protect certain volunteers from incurring civil liability when doing community work on a voluntary basis;\n\n• to provide that community organisations that organise community work to be done by volunteers may incur the civil liability from which the volunteers are protected when doing that work;\n\n• to protect persons who donate food or grocery products from incurring civil liability for personal injury resulting from the consumption of that food or the use of those grocery products,\n\nand for related purposes.\n\n[Long title amended: No. 53 of 2006 s. 4.]\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n[Heading inserted: No. 53 of 2006 s. 5.]\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002*.\n\n[Section 1 amended: No. 53 of 2006 s. 6.]\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\n(1) This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.\n\n(2) Different days may be fixed under subsection (1) for different provisions.\n\n##### 3. Terms used in this Act\n\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\ncommunity organisation means —\n\n(a) a State agency or instrumentality or a department of the Public Service; or\n\n(b) an incorporated association under the *Associations Incorporation Act 2015*, a local government or other body corporate,\n\nthat organises the doing of community work by volunteers;\n\ncommunity work means work organised by a community organisation to be done —\n\n(a) for a religious, educational, charitable or benevolent purpose; or\n\n(b) for the purpose of promoting or encouraging literature, science or the arts; or\n\n(c) for the purpose of sport, recreation or amusement; or\n\n(d) for the purpose of caring for, treating or otherwise assisting people who need assistance because of a physical or mental disability or condition; or\n\n(e) for the purpose of conserving or protecting the environment; or\n\n(f) for the purpose of promoting or preserving historical or cultural heritage; or\n\n(g) for the purpose of establishing, carrying on, or improving a community, social or cultural centre; or\n\n(h) for the purpose of promoting the interests of a local community; or\n\n(i) for a political purpose; or\n\n[(j) deleted]\n\n(k) for a purpose prescribed by the regulations,\n\nbut does not include work of a kind that is prescribed by the regulations as work that is not to be regarded as community work for the purposes of this Act;\n\n  food has the meaning given to that term in the *Food Act 2008* section 9;\n\n  grocery product means —\n\n(a) a personal hygiene product; or\n\n(b) a household cleaning product; or\n\n(c) a medical product that may be sold or supplied without a written prescription that authorises that sale or supply; or\n\n(d) anything prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition,\n\nbut does not include food;\n\norganised includes directed and supervised;\n\n  personal injury includes —\n\n(a) death; and\n\n(b) pre‑natal injury; and\n\n(c) impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition; and\n\n(d) disease; and\n\n(e) recurrence, aggravation or acceleration of an injury or disease;\n\nvolunteer has the meaning given by section 4.\n\n(2) A reference in this Act to the doing of anything by a volunteer includes a reference to the omission by a volunteer to do anything.\n\n[Section 3 amended: No. 53 of 2006 s. 7; No. 43 of 2008 s. 149; No. 30 of 2015 s. 230 and 232.]\n\n##### 4. “Volunteer”, meaning of\n\n(1) In this Act —\n\nvolunteer means a person who does community work on a voluntary basis but does not include a person who is —\n\n(a) taken to be performing a function under an emergency services Act within the meaning of section 37(1a) of the *Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998*;\n\n(b) performing a function as an honorary fisheries officer within the meaning of the *Fish Resources Management Act 1994*;\n\n(c) performing a function as an honorary wildlife officer, honorary forest officer, honorary ranger or honorary conservation and land management officer within the meaning of the *Conservation and Land Management Act 1984*; or\n\n(d) performing a function prescribed by the regulations.\n\n(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person does community work on a voluntary basis if the person —\n\n(a) receives no remuneration for doing that work other than —\n\n(i) remuneration that the person would receive whether or not the person did that work; or\n\n(ii) the reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred by the person in doing that work;\n\nor\n\n(b) receives remuneration that is not greater than the amount, if any, prescribed by the regulations.\n\n(3) A person is not to be regarded as doing community work on a voluntary basis if the person is doing that work under an order imposed by a court.\n\n[Section 4 amended: No. 22 of 2012 s. 145.]\n\n##### 5. Application\n\n(1) Part 2 applies in relation to civil liability for a thing done by a volunteer after the commencement of this Act.\n\n(1a) Section 8A applies to food and grocery products donated on or after the day on which section 10 of the *Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Amendment Act 2006* comes into operation.\n\n(2) This Act does not limit the protection from liability given by another written law.\n\n[Section 5 amended: No. 53 of 2006 s. 8.]\n\n## Part 2 — Protection of volunteers from liability\n\n[Heading inserted: No. 53 of 2006 s. 9.]\n\n##### 6. Protection of volunteers from liability\n\n(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a volunteer does not incur civil liability for anything that the volunteer has done in good faith when doing community work.\n\n(2) Subsection (1) does not affect any right to recover damages in respect of defamation or 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 —\n\n(a) the vehicle was owned or being driven by a person who, but for the operation of subsection (1), would incur liability in respect of the death or injury; and\n\n(b) a contract of insurance —\n\n(i) was, or was required to be, in force in respect of the vehicle under section 4 of the *Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943*; or\n\n(ii) referred to in section 3(4) of that Act was in force in respect of the vehicle.\n\n(3) The protection given by subsection (1) does not apply to a volunteer —\n\n(a) who knew or ought reasonably to have known that at the relevant time he or she was acting —\n\n(i) outside the scope of the community work organised by the community organisation; or\n\n(ii) contrary to instructions given by the community organisation;\n\nor\n\n(b) whose ability to do the community work in a proper manner was, at the relevant time, significantly impaired by alcohol or drugs.\n\n(4) In this section —\n\ndrugs means drugs that are taken voluntarily otherwise than for therapeutic purposes;\n\nmotor vehicle has the meaning given in section 3(1) of the *Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943*.\n\n##### 7. Liability of community organisations\n\n(1) A community organisation incurs the civil liability that, but for the operation of section 6(1), a volunteer would incur for a thing done by the volunteer when doing community work organised by the community organisation.\n\n(2) The operation of subsection (1) is subject to any protection from liability that would have applied to the community organisation if the thing done by the volunteer had been done by the community organisation.\n\n(3) If more than one community organisation is involved in organising the community work referred to in subsection (1), that subsection applies to the community organisation that principally organises, or the community organisations that principally organise, that work.\n\n(4) Liability that would be incurred under subsection (1) by a community organisation that is a State agency, if the State agency were a body corporate, is incurred by the State.\n\n(5) In subsection (4) —\n\nState agency means —\n\n(a) a State agency or instrumentality that is not a body corporate; or\n\n(b) a department of the Public Service.\n\n##### 8. Certain volunteers’ indemnities etc. have no effect\n\nAn agreement, undertaking or arrangement has no effect to the extent that it provides for a volunteer to give a community organisation an indemnity against, or to make a contribution to a community organisation in relation to, a liability that —\n\n(a) the volunteer would incur but for the operation of section 6(1); and\n\n(b) the community organisation incurs under section 7(1).\n\n## Part 3 — Protection of food donors and grocery product donors from liability\n\n[Heading inserted: No. 53 of 2006 s. 10.]\n\n##### 8A. Protection of donors of food and grocery products from liability\n\n(1) A person (the donor) who donates food or a grocery product in the circumstances described in subsection (2) does not incur civil liability for any personal injury that results from the consumption of the food or the use of the grocery product.\n\n(2) The circumstances are —\n\n(a) that the donor donated the food or grocery product —\n\n(i) in good faith for a charitable or benevolent purpose; and\n\n(ii) with the intention that the consumer of the food or user of the grocery product would not have to pay for it;\n\nand\n\n(b) that the food was fit for human consumption, or the grocery product was safe to use, at the time it left the possession or control of the donor; and\n\n(c) if the food or grocery product was of a nature that required it to be handled in a particular way to ensure that it remained fit for human consumption, or safe to use, after it left the possession or control of the donor — that the donor informed the person to whom the donor gave the food or grocery product of those handling requirements; and\n\n(d) if the food or grocery product remained fit for human consumption, or safe to use, for only a limited time after it left the possession or control of the donor — that the donor informed the person to whom the donor gave the food or grocery product of that time limit.\n\n(3) In subsection (1) —\n\n  person who donates food or a grocery product does not include a person who distributes food or a grocery product donated by another person.\n\n[Section 8A inserted: No. 53 of 2006 s. 10.]\n\n## Part 4 — Regulations\n\n[Heading inserted: No. 53 of 2006 s. 11.]\n\n##### 9. Regulations\n\nThe Governor may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the purposes of this Act.\n\nNotes\n\nThis is a compilation of the *Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002* and includes amendments made by other written laws. For provisions that have come into operation, and for information about any reprints, see the compilation table. For provisions that have not yet come into operation see the uncommenced provisions table.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Act 2002* 1 | 32 of 2002 | 14 Nov 2002 | 1 Jan 2003 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 17 Dec 2002 p. 5905) |\n| *Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Amendment Act 2006* | 53 of 2006 | 26 Oct 2006 | 2 Dec 2006 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 1 Dec 2006 p. 5297) |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002* as at 19 Jan 2007** (includes amendments listed above) | | | |\n| *Food Act 2008* s. 149 | 43 of 2008 | 8 Jul 2008 | 24 Oct 2009 (see s. 2(1)(b) and (2) and *Gazette* 23 Oct 2009 p. 4157) |\n| *Fire and Emergency Services Legislation Amendment Act 2012* Pt. 7 Div. 16 | 22 of 2012 | 29 Aug 2012 | 1 Nov 2012 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 31 Oct 2012 p. 5255) |\n| *Associations Incorporation Act 2015* s. 230 and 232 | 30 of 2015 | 2 Nov 2015 | 1 Jul 2016 (see s. 2(b) and *Gazette* 24 Jun 2016 p. 2291-2) |\n\n\nUncommenced provisions table\n\nTo view the text of the uncommenced provisions see *Acts as passed* on the WA Legislation website.\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Aquatic Resources Management Act 2016* s. 373 | 53 of 2016 | 29 Nov 2016 | To be proclaimed (see s. 2(b)) |\n\n\nOther notes\n\n1 Now known as *Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002*; short title changed (see note under s. 1).\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\ncommunity organisation 3(1)\n\ncommunity work 3(1)\n\ndonor 8A(1)\n\ndrugs 6(4)\n\nfood 3(1)\n\ngrocery product 3(1)\n\nmotor vehicle 6(4)\n\norganised 3(1)\n\nperson who donates food or a grocery product 8A(3)\n\npersonal injury 3(1)\n\nState agency 7(5)\n\nvolunteer 3(1), 4(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 2002 Act (then titled 'Volunteers (Protection from Liability) Act 2002') only covered volunteer liability protection. In 2006, the Act was significantly expanded to include Part 3 (section 8A), adding protection for food donors and grocery product donors. This represented a substantial expansion beyond the original scope of volunteer protection into food safety and charitable donation law, necessitating a change to the Act's short title to reflect the dual purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 9 substantive sections plus definitions","Limited cross-referencing (only references to Motor Vehicle Insurance Act, Food Act, and emergency services legislation)","Clear structure with distinct Parts for volunteers and food donors","Straightforward conditional logic with explicit exceptions listed in subsections rather than nested clauses","13 defined terms in section 3, with additional definitions embedded in operative sections (sections 4, 6, 7, 8A)","Some complexity in the 'volunteer' definition requiring calculation of remuneration against regulatory thresholds","Amendment history visible in text but does not obscure current operative provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Western Australian law provides legal protection (immunity from being sued) for two groups of people:\n\n1. **Volunteers** – People who work for free (or for minimal payment) for community organisations like charities, sports clubs, environmental groups, or local community groups. If a volunteer accidentally causes harm while doing their volunteer work in good faith, they generally cannot be sued for damages. However, this protection doesn't apply if:\n   - The volunteer was acting outside their assigned duties or against instructions\n   - The volunteer was significantly impaired by alcohol or non-medical drugs\n   - The harm involves defamation (damaging someone's reputation)\n   - The harm involves a motor vehicle accident where insurance applies\n\n   **Important twist:** While the volunteer is protected, the community organisation they work for becomes liable instead. The law also prevents organisations from making volunteers sign agreements to pay them back for any damages.\n\n2. **Food and grocery donors** – People or businesses who donate food or household products (like cleaning supplies or non-prescription medicines) to charity. They cannot be sued if someone gets sick or injured from the donated items, provided:\n   - The donation was made in good faith for charitable purposes\n   - The donor intended the recipient to get it for free\n   - The food was safe when it left the donor's control\n   - The donor told the charity about any special handling requirements or use-by dates\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Volunteers at non-profits, community groups, religious organisations, and government agencies\n- Community organisations that coordinate volunteer work\n- Food banks, charities receiving food donations, and businesses that donate surplus food or products\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law encourages volunteering and food donation by removing the fear of expensive lawsuits. Without this protection, volunteers might be personally bankrupted by accidents, and businesses might throw away edible food rather than risk liability for donating it."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act was originally focused on limiting volunteers’ personal civil liability. Subsequent amendment expanded its scope to add liability protection for donors of food and specified grocery products (s 8A) and broadened the statutory architecture that shifts liability from volunteers to the organising community organisation (s 7). The 2006 amendment (inserting Part 3) and later definitional updates (including cross‑references to the Food Act 2008 and other Acts) therefore grew the instrument beyond a narrow volunteer‑protection statute into a dual‑purpose statute that also facilitates charitable donations of food and grocery items, while giving the executive (regulations) scope to alter which activities and payments qualify (see ss 3, 4(2), 8A and s 9)."},"complexity_factors":["Relatively short Act (9 substantive sections plus definitions and regs) but multiple Parts (volunteers, donors, regulations).","Approximately 13 defined terms central to operation (community organisation, community work, volunteer, food, grocery product, personal injury, organised, motor vehicle, donor, etc.) (see s 3 and defined terms list).","Several conditional protections with nested exceptions (s 6(1) protected, s 6(2)–(3) exceptions; s 8A(1) protected, s 8A(2) multiple required conditions).","Cross‑references to multiple other Acts creating interpretive dependencies (Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943; Food Act 2008; Fire and Emergency Services Act 1998; Fish Resources Management Act 1994; Conservation and Land Management Act 1984; Associations Incorporation Act 2015).","Liability‑shift mechanism (s 7) with sub‑rules on which organisation is principally liable and State substitution (s 7(1)–(5)).","Nullification of indemnities/arrangements (s 8) creates interaction with contract law and insurance arrangements.","Regulatory delegation (s 9) permits the Governor to prescribe or exclude categories of work, remuneration caps, and other operational rules — increases potential variability over time.","Specific factual standards (\"good faith\", \"fit for human consumption\", \"safe to use\") require case‑by‑case assessment.","Staggered commencement history and amendments (2006 insertions adding donors) create two generations of scope to reconcile in interpretation."],"plain_english_summary":"**What the law changes (mechanically)\n\n- It stops volunteers from being personally sued for most civil wrongs they commit while doing organised community work, provided they acted in good faith (see s 6).  \n- When a volunteer is protected, the community organisation that organised the volunteer’s work becomes the party that can be held liable instead (see s 7).  \n- Agreements that try to make volunteers indemnify (pay for) that organisation’s liability are ineffective to the extent the liability arises from the protection given to the volunteer (see s 8).  \n- It also protects people who donate food or certain grocery products from being sued for personal injury caused by the donated item, but only if a set of conditions are met (see s 8A).\n\n**Who is covered and who is excluded\n\n- \"Volunteer\": a person doing community work on a voluntary basis (no more than reimbursed expenses or not more than a small prescribed amount of pay) (see s 4(2)).  Certain nominated honorary or emergency-function roles are explicitly excluded (see s 4(1)(a)–(c)).  \n- \"Community organisation\": a State agency/instrumentality, a Public Service department, an incorporated association, a local government or other body corporate that organises volunteer community work (see s 3(1)).  \n- Volunteer protection does not apply if the volunteer did not act in good faith, acted outside the organised scope or against instructions, or was significantly impaired by alcohol or voluntary drugs (see s 6(2)–(4)).  \n- The donor protection in s 8A applies only where the donor acted in good faith for a charitable/benevolent purpose, the item was fit/safe when it left the donor’s control, and the donor gave any special handling or time-limit information required (see s 8A(2)).  Distributors of donated goods (who pass on another person’s donation) are not covered by s 8A(3).\n\n**Who bears the cost and who decides\n\n- If a protected volunteer would otherwise have been liable, the community organisation that organised the volunteer’s work bears that civil liability instead (s 7(1)).  If that organisation is a non‑body‑corporate State agency, the State bears the liability (s 7(4)–(5)).  \n- Organisations therefore face the practical cost: defending claims, paying damages, and likely holding or buying insurance.  The State may become the ultimate payer for certain public agencies (s 7(4)).  \n- Donors who want protection must meet the factual conditions in s 8A(2) (good faith, charitable purpose, safe when leaving control, and information where required).\n\n**Official rationale, and testing that rationale against trade‑offs and implementation mechanics\n\n- The Act’s stated purposes (in the long title) are to encourage volunteering by limiting volunteers’ personal exposure to civil claims, to channel liability to organisations that arrange volunteer work, and to encourage donation of food and grocery items by protecting donors from certain claims.  \n- How those aims operate in practice:  \n  - Benefit concentration: volunteers and charitable donors receive direct legal protection (s 6; s 8A).  \n  - Cost concentration: the primary costs are shifted to community organisations and, in some cases, to the State (s 7(1), (4)). Organisations will therefore have stronger incentives to manage risk (training, supervision, instructions) or to purchase insurance.  \n  - Behavioural incentives: volunteers face lower personal legal risk for acting in good faith (s 6), which may raise willingness to volunteer. Community organisations face stronger incentives to supervise and control volunteers because they pick up the liability (s 7(1)–(3)). Donors are more likely to donate food/grocery products if they meet s 8A conditions.  \n  - Compliance and informational costs: donors must know and communicate handling/time limits where appropriate (s 8A(2)(c),(d)). Community organisations must identify who \"principally\" organises work when multiple organisations are involved (s 7(3)).  \n  - Ambiguities and implementation risk: key legal hooks are terms like \"good faith\" and \"organised\" (defined as including \"directed and supervised\" at s 3(1)), which will require factual assessment in disputes (see s 6(1) and s 3(1)). The Governor (regulations) can add or remove specific categories of work or functions via regulation (s 3(1) and s 9), creating some regulatory‑discretion risk.\n\n**Important limits and exceptions (practical effects)\n\n- Motor‑vehicle‑related death or injury claims remain actionable under statutory third‑party motor insurance rules (s 6(2)); volunteer protection does not displace those insurance‑based claims.  \n- Protection is lost if the volunteer acts outside the scope of the organised work, contrary to instructions, or while significantly impaired by alcohol or voluntary drugs (s 6(3)–(4)).  \n- Donor protection is conditional: the food/product must be safe/fit when it left the donor’s control, and the donor must advise of special handling or time limits where relevant (s 8A(2)(b)–(d)). Distributors of another person’s donated goods are excluded (s 8A(3)).  \n- Organisations cannot contractively shift back to volunteers liability that the volunteer would have borne but for the Act — such indemnities are ineffective to that extent (s 8).\n\n**Where discretion and regulatory change can alter scope\n\n- The Act leaves several matters to regulation: it can prescribe additional purposes that count as \"community work\", exclude certain work from the Act, set a remuneration cap for volunteers (s 4(2)), and address other matters necessary to give effect to the Act (s 3(1), s 4(2), s 9). Any such regulations change how broadly the protections operate in practice.\n\n**Net practical takeaways (who pays, who decides, what behaviour changes)\n\n- Who pays: community organisations (or the State for certain public agencies) will bear more legal and insurance cost for volunteer‑organised activities (s 7).  \n- Who decides: community organisations control the scope of organised volunteer work and thus when they accept shifted liability; donors control whether they meet s 8A conditions when donating. The Governor (through regulations) can change categories and limits (s 9).  \n- Behaviour changes: the law reduces volunteers’ fear of personal liability in many situations (s 6), but pushes organisations to manage risk and likely to obtain insurance. Donors of food/grocery items have an incentive to donate where they can comply with s 8A conditions.\n\n(References are to sections in the Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002: see ss 3–9 and 8A.)"},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the Act's title alone, there is no indication that the scope deviated from its original intent. The legislation appears to have been enacted specifically to protect volunteers and donors from civil liability — a narrow, clearly defined purpose that is common across similar Acts in other Australian jurisdictions (e.g., NSW, Victoria). However, without access to the full text, any amendments or scope expansions over time could not be assessed."},"complexity_factors":["Legislation text was entirely unavailable — no substantive provisions could be analysed","Based on title and general knowledge, the Act appears relatively straightforward in its protective intent","Likely contains exclusions or conditions (e.g., gross negligence carve-outs) which can add moderate complexity","Interaction with general tort law (law of negligence) and other State/Commonwealth liability legislation may require cross-referencing","Definitional boundaries (what counts as 'volunteering' or a qualifying 'donation') can create edge-case ambiguity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Volunteers and Food and Other Donors (Protection from Liability) Act 2002 (WA) shields community volunteers and people or organisations donating food or goods from personal legal liability for harm arising from their voluntary activities or donations. It affects volunteers, donors, and charities and matters because it reduces fear of lawsuits, encouraging volunteering and the donation of surplus food and goods."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002","history":"/api/acts/volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002/history","analysis":"/api/acts/volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/volunteers-and-food-and-other-donors-protection-from-liability-act-2002/documents"}}