WA TO REFORM LAWS FOR
CHILD ABUSE SURVIVORS
Law firm Rightside Legal has welcomed today’s announcement that the WA Government will move to end uncertainty for WA abuse survivors following last year’s High Court ruling that churches are not vicariously liable for abuse carried out by priests.
Sara Connor-Stead, WA manager of Rightside Legal, says changes announced by WA Attorney-General Dr Tony Buti mean that Churches can no longer escape responsibility for the terrible offences committed by their priests.
“The WA Government’s changes will allow survivors to again obtain proper compensation for their injuries,” she said.
Rightside Legal has been involved in this area since the WA government led Australia in changing unfair laws which prevented abuse survivors from proper compensation.
Rightside Legal then won the first application to set aside a previously agreed deed of settlement, allowing the claimant to make a fresh claim for compensation.
Rightside Legal was also first to win a court decision for a WA survivor of historical sex abuse after the law affecting these cases was changed.
“WA led the way in reforming the law for survivors of historical sexual abuse to make contemporary claims – laws that have since been copied in other States,” Ms Connor-Stead said.
“Now WA leads again, and the announcement today will be discussed by other States at the coming Standing Council of Attorneys-General.”
Contact:
Sara Connor-Stead, principal lawyers and State manager, Rightside Legal 0448 152 204
Andrew Taylor 0411 156 797
RIGHTSIDE LEGAL
In recent years Rightside Legal has set legal precedents: the first trial win against the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne; and the first cases in Western Australia and Victoria to overturn previous settlements in sexual abuse cases. The largest verdict for an abuse survivor in Australia. After decades of being denied justice, survivors are now being properly supported late in their lives.
Rightside Legal has also set records, with multi-million-dollar settlements for former students in private and government schools and orphanages.
Not all cases set records, not every case is a first, but every case matters.