NSW Courts have been empowered to set aside historical settlement agreements to allow survivors of institutional child abuse pursue compensation, with new laws coming into effect last week (9 November).
Announcing the reforms, Attorney General, Mark Speakman said the Civil Liability Amendment (Child Abuse) Act 2021 allowed the courts to set aside unfair historical settlement agreements for sexual and serious physical abuse to ensure survivors could access the civil justice they deserved and be properly compensated for “the appalling mistreatment they suffered as children”.
“Many survivors, who were often suffering trauma and had no legal advice, reported a significant power imbalance when negotiating claims,” Mr Speakman said.
“They felt forced to accept inadequate settlements under time pressures due to legal technicalities preventing them from suing responsible institutions,” he said.
“Today we are overhauling the legal frameworks that enabled this injustice in order to hold those institutions to account.”
Mr Speakman said reforms were introduced in 2016 and 2018 that removed barriers for survivors seeking civil justice, in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The Attorney General said these included eliminating limitation periods for child abuse claims and abolishing the legal technicalities that shielded some institutions from lawsuits.
He said the new Act went beyond the Royal Commission’s recommendations by allowing survivors impacted by these legal barriers to have the same access to justice as those who brought a claim after the 2016 and 2018 reforms.
Mr Speakman said the Act also removed restrictions on personal injury claims for survivors of child abuse that occurred in custody.
“I thank every survivor who courageously campaigned for these historic reforms,” he said.
“This would not have been possible without their advocacy and their bravery,” Mr Speakman said.
