AUSTRALIA
The Age
February 24, 2015
Jane Lee
Child abuse victims could line up to sue the state itself once the Andrews government removes the statute of limitations from compensation claims.
The Andrews government is opening itself up to a range of potential lawsuits – including class actions – from people abused in state-run schools, orphanages and detention centres, lawyers say.
The state introduced a law on Tuesday abolishing current time limits to making compensation claims against a person or an organisation for child abuse. If passed, it will destroy what is widely considered the main legal barrier to victims receiving compensation from the institutions in which they were abused, following a recommendation from the Betrayal of Trust report of the state’s inquiry on child sexual abuse.
Lawyers who specialise in historic child abuse say most new claims are likely to be made against the Victorian government for abuse inflicted on state wards. Other legal barriers, they say, still prevent victims from suing religious organisations such as the Catholic Church.
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