Civil Liability (Institutional Child Abuse) Amendment Bill 2018
Bill Journey
Referred to Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee
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Plain English Summary
Overview
This bill was discharged and did not become law. It sought to implement recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by making it easier for survivors to sue institutions. It would have created a legal duty for schools, churches, and other organisations to prevent child abuse and reversed the burden of proof so institutions had to show they took reasonable steps.
Who it affects
Survivors of institutional child abuse would have had clearer legal pathways to compensation. Institutions including churches, schools, and sporting clubs would have faced greater legal liability.
Key changes
- Creates a non-delegable duty of care for institutions to prevent child abuse
- Reverses the burden of proof - institutions must show they took reasonable steps to prevent abuse
- Requires institutions to nominate a defendant with sufficient assets to pay compensation
- Makes trustees of institutional property trusts liable for breach of duty claims
- Extends the definition of child abuse to include serious physical abuse, not just sexual abuse
- Applies retrospectively to abuse that occurred before the law commenced