Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic)
Historic Abuse Reform: Victory for Survivors
Community legal centres welcome the passing of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Vicarious Liability for Child Abuse) Bill 2025 in Parliament on 17 February 2026. These reforms reflect a commitment to accountability, fairness, and the dignity of victim survivors of institutional child abuse. We commend the Victorian Government for taking action to address this critical issue.
The bill reverses the High Court decision in Bird v DP handed down in November 2024. In that case, the High Court held that a Catholic Diocese could not be held to be vicariously liable for the abuse of a child by an assistant priest as the assistant priest was not classed as an employee. This decision had a profound impact for victim survivors seeking justice against the Catholic Diocese for child abuse, leaving many with no possible avenues for civil litigation.
The bill addresses the negative impacts of this unfair High Court decision. The bill extends vicarious liability to include relationships that are 'akin to employment' and amend the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) to enable affected victim survivors to apply to the court to have their settlement or civil judgment that occurred between 13 November 2024 (the date of the Bird v DP decision) and the commencement of the bill, set aside, so that they may benefit from these reforms.
The bill restores access to justice for victim survivors of institutional child abuse. It reinforces the principle that institutions entrusted with the care of children must bear responsibility for safeguarding them, no matter their organisational structure.
In a survey of 8,500 Australians aged 16 and younger, 37.3 per cent of girls and 18.8 per cent of boys report having experienced some form of sexual abuse, demonstrating the alarming incidence of crimes being inflicted on children.
Many community legal centres work with people who have experienced child abuse in an institutional context and witness the profound and lasting impacts of child abuse on their lives. Many victim survivors continue to struggle decades later due to the trauma from the abuse they experienced as children.
Community legal centres work with victim survivors who have taken decades to disclose the abuse they experienced as children. We see the enormous courage it takes for victim survivors to talk about something so deeply personal and traumatic and to then take steps to hold the institution accountable. We also see the enormous toll it takes on them to be denied redress due to a legal technicality, having made the decision to take action. We believe that this reform will create meaningful change for victim survivors otherwise denied the opportunity to seek justice.
Louisa Gibbs, CEO at the Federation said:
"This bill is a significant step towards formalising institutional accountability, and ensuring that there are pathways through which victim survivors of historical institutional abuse can seek justice. Experiencing abuse as a child has enduring consequences on individuals, and ensuring they can access justice without legal technicalities getting in the way is essential. We commend the Victorian Government, and others in the Parliament who supported this legislative response, for taking this action."
https://www.fclc.org.au/institutional_accountability_reform
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