Survivors of institutional child abuse are to be empowered to pursue fairer compensation, under reforms introduced to Parliament last week (17 March).
Attorney General Mark Speakman said the Civil Liability Amendment (Child Abuse) Bill 2021 provided a pathway for survivors to be properly compensated for the appalling mistreatment they suffered as children.
“We know from the harrowing accounts heard by the Royal Commission that many survivors, often suffering significant trauma, felt they had no choice but to accept inadequate settlements due to legal technicalities preventing them from suing responsible institutions,” Mr Speakman said.
“This Bill will give the courts the power to set aside certain settlement agreements for sexual abuse, serious physical abuse, other connected abuse and enable survivors to access the civil justice they deserve,” he said.
Mr Speakman said that in response to the Royal Commission’s recommendations, reforms were introduced in 2016 and 2018 which took down barriers for survivors who sought civil justice, including the removal of limitation periods for child abuse claims and the legal technicalities that allowed some institutions to avoid civil liability.
“[This Bill] will allow survivors impacted by these legal barriers to have the same access to justice as those who brought a claim after the Government’s 2016 and 2018 reforms,” the Attorney General said.
He said the Bill would also remove restrictions on personal injury claims for survivors of child abuse that occurred in custody.
