AUSTRALIA
Crux
June 10, 2018
By Crux Staff
Survivors of clerical abuse in the Australian state of New South Wales will be able to directly sue churches under proposed legal changes announced on Sunday.
Mark Speakman, the attorney general, said the new legislation was in response to Australia’s royal commission into institutional abuse.
New South Wales is Australia’s most populous state, and the home of the country’s largest city, Sydney.
“These reforms will provide access to new avenues to allow survivors to pursue compensation, so they can focus on recovering and moving forward with their lives,” Speakman said during a press conference, according to the AAP.
Under current law, priests and lay volunteers are not considered employees of churches. Moreover, churches’ assets are held in trust, and Australia’s courts have held that the trustees of a trust cannot be held responsible for the actions of the conduct of those working for the trust.
This makes it difficult for victims to sue for damages.
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