Our approach to handling Sexual & Institutional Abuse Claims.

Our specialist team of abuse lawyers first priority is to ensure your safety and wellbeing. We know that no two cases are the same, with the individual circumstances varying dramatically. We will advise you on the various pathways available to you that can lead to financial compensation or legal redress, helping you be best informed in deciding which path most suits you. In our experience, most clients find our process a huge help in dealing with past trauma and renewing their future.

There are numerous options available to survivors of abuse, including:
• Common Law Civil Claims
• Negotiated Out-of-Court Settlements
• Referral to make a National Redress Scheme application

While each of these options has its good and bad features, they are different in one important sense. Both Common Law claims and Out-of-Court settlements offer potentially much larger financial payouts than does Redress. The difference between one option and another can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In recent years, following changes to laws on child abuse, a number of court decisions have awarded abuse survivors significant compensation, some in excess of $1 million.

While each case is important to us in its own right, we also believe in advocacy and systemic change and have advocated for changes to the law in the area of abuse law for years.

Our values as a firm.

Since the early 1990s, we have acted for more than 3,500 clients who have suffered physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, cultural abuse or neglect. Over this time, our abuse legal team has won cases in a range of different areas, including:
• Wards of the State
• Catholic Church, Salvation Army, Uniting Church, Anglican Church
• Other religious institutions
• Private schools
• Government schools
• Foster care
• Juvenile detention centres
• Defence forces
• Railways
• Volunteer and not for profits
• Child care
• After-school care centres

In all cases, we take a trauma-informed approach, aiming to avoid re-traumatising abuse survivors with the legal process. We respect and acknowledge that many survivors suffer serious ongoing effects of the abuse in their daily lives, including on their mental health. We link you with support services and financial planners and provide you with an empowerment pack to assist you on your legal journey.