14/11/2025

The introduction of the Civil Liability Amendment (Child Sexual Abuse Actions) Bill 2025 in WA Parliament on Wednesday 12 November 2025 is an important step forward for victim survivors of childhood institutional sexual abuse to obtain justice.

“We welcome the swift action taken by the Attorney General and the Cook Labor Government to begin to rectify the injustice created by the High Court’s decision in Bird v DP,” said Eleanor Scarff, WA President, Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

“We commend the commitment to hold religious institutions and religious practitioners at those institutions accountable. The legislation will apply retrospectively which will be reassuring for many victim survivors in our state.”

In Bird v DP, the High Court decided that the Catholic Church cannot be held vicariously liable for the sexual abuse of a child committed by a priest without an employment relationship between the priest and the Diocese of Ballarat in Victoria. The High Court chose to overturn the decisions of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the Victorian Court of Appeal.

"The High Court’s decision created another hurdle that victims have to overcome because they were abused by someone who, despite having many of the responsibilities of an employee, was not technically an employee according to the High Court,” said Eleanor.

“Without this much needed law reform, religious institutions that have had children abused in their care have been able to avoid responsibility for the actions of those they effectively employed.

“However, for it to have a real and immediate impact for these victim survivors of childhood sexual abuse there cannot be any further legal loopholes in the Bill that religious institutions and religious practitioners can use to avoid accountability.”

The ALA is not for profit member association of legal professionals many of whom represent victim survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.