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Hunter Valley Bus Crash Class ActionAdam Bray v Transport for New South Wales & Ors
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Hunter Valley Bus Crash Class Action

Adam Bray v Transport for New South Wales & Ors

Court
Supreme Court of New South Wales
File number
2024/00338021
Plaintiff
Adam Bray
Defendants
Transport for NSW · Acciona Infrastructure Projects Australia Pty Ltd · AECOM Cost Consulting Pty Ltd

Overview

On the night of 11 June 2023, a bus carrying guests home from a wedding reception at Lovedale crashed at the interchange on Wine Country Drive near Greta in the Hunter Valley. Ten passengers died and 25 people were seriously injured.

Gillis+Co. acts for Adam Bray, whose son Zachary died in the crash. Mr Bray has brought a class action in the Supreme Court of New South Wales on behalf of himself and everyone else harmed by the crash. The case is about the design and construction of the interchange, not the driving of the bus.

Who the class action is for

You may be a group member if you:

  • were injured in the crash itself, whether physically, psychologically or psychiatrically;
  • have a recognised psychiatric illness because a close family member was killed or injured in the crash. Close family means a parent or person with parental responsibility, spouse, partner, child, step-child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother or stepsister;
  • have a recognised psychiatric illness because you were at the scene and saw someone killed, injured or put in danger. This can include rescuers and first responders; or
  • depended financially on someone who died in the crash and have lost that support.

If you have already received a payment from a Compulsory Third Party insurer, you are still a group member if you fall within one of the categories above. Whether that payment affects what you can recover in the class action is a separate question we can talk through with you.

You do not need to do anything to become a group member and you do not need to have signed anything. If you are not sure whether the class action covers you, contact us.

What the class action alleges

The claim is that the interchange was built in a way that was unsafe for a large, high vehicle such as a bus, and that the three defendants were negligent. The defendants are Transport for NSW, Acciona Infrastructure Projects Australia Pty Limited, which designed and constructed the interchange, and Aecom Cost Consulting Pty Limited, which was appointed to verify and certify that work.

Among other things, the claim alleges that:

  • the interchange was signposted as a roundabout when it is elliptical, with a curve that tightens as a driver moves through it;
  • the curve radius was tighter, and the road sloped the wrong way, compared with the applicable design guidance, both of which lower the point at which a bus will tip;
  • the approach speed limit was 80 km/h, with no lower advisory speed and no warning of the tightening curve or of the tipping risk to buses and heavy vehicles;
  • planting on the central island obscured drivers’ view of the tightening curve; and
  • a guardrail was installed next to a hollow where a clear run-off area could have been provided, so that when the bus slid off the road the rail and its supports entered the passenger cabin.

The claim is that the interchange did not comply with the Austroads guides and Australian Standards that applied when it was built, that each defendant owed a duty of care to Mr Bray and group members, and that each breached that duty. The class action seeks damages, interest and costs.

The defendants deny the allegations and are defending the proceedings. They have also brought cross-claims against the bus driver, the bus operator and three engineering firms. None of the allegations has been decided by the Court.

Costs

There is no litigation funder in this class action. Group members who choose to retain Gillis+Co. do so on a no win, no pay basis. Simply remaining a group member does not make you liable for the costs of running the common part of the case. If compensation becomes payable, the Court may be asked to order that part of it contribute to the costs of running the class action that are not recovered from the defendants.

There is no charge for contacting us to ask whether the class action covers you.

Opting out

Group members who do not want to be part of the class action can opt out. A group member who opts out is not bound by the outcome and cannot share in any judgment or settlement, but keeps the right to bring their own case, subject to the time limits that apply to them. The Court has set a date by which an opt out notice must be received.

The Court has fixed 19 October 2026 as the date by which a group member may opt out of this proceeding. The Notice to Group Members (Schedule A) and the Opt-Out Notice (Schedule B) are published below. If you wish to opt out, complete Schedule B and send it to the Supreme Court of NSW so that it is received before 19 October 2026. You must also send a copy of your Opt-Out Notice to our firm.

If you think you may want to opt out, get legal advice before the deadline. Time limits can be short and, once they expire, a claim may not be able to be brought at all.

Pleadings

Copies of the pleadings can be downloaded from this page, inspected at our office, or obtained from the Supreme Court of NSW class actions page for this proceeding.

84 documents

This page contains general information about a class action and is not legal advice. Whether you are a group member, and what you may be entitled to, depends on your own circumstances. The allegations described on this page are allegations only and have not been determined by the Court.