Commonwealth v. Introvigne was an Australian High Court decision handed down on 3 August 1982 concerning the principle of non-delegable duty of care.

Roldano Introvigne was a 15 year old student at Woden Valley High School in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

[1] Woden Valley High School, whilst in the ACT and so under the direct responsibility of the Commonwealth, was operated by the Department of Education of the State of New South Wales.

[4] Shortly afterwards, whilst no one was swinging on it, Roldano was standing near the pole when a 7-kilogram (15 lb) part of the flag assembly, the truck containing the pulleys, fell 35 feet (11 m) onto his head.

[3] In its judgement handed down on 25 September 1980, the Federal Court found that the Commonwealth was liable as the teachers had been negligent by providing inadequate supervision.

[2] In his judgement, Justice Mason said that; The immaturity and inexperience of the pupils and their propensity for mischief suggest that there should be a special responsibility on a school authority to care for their safety, one that goes beyond a mere vicarious liability for the acts and omissions of its servants.

[2]Justice Murphy, in his concurring judgement summed up the placement of liability as follows, In this case the damage to the plaintiff may be attributed to causes for which the Commonwealth is liable, unsafe premises and lack of supervision of the children.

The departure from the system by the teachers was understandable because of the death of the school principal, but this does not excuse the breach by the Commonwealth of this non-delegable duty.