Article by Evelynn Wang, paralegal Background Supreme Court In 2024, AA brought proceedings against the Catholic Church (Diocese of Maitland–Newcastle) alleging negligence, breach of a non-delegable duty of care and vicarious liability for sexual assaults said to have been committed by Father Pickin in 1968. Father Pickin was a priest who taught scripture at the [...]
Dion Barber v State of Western Australia Background In September 2025, the District Court of Western Australia handed down the largest award of damages to a Plaintiff arising from institutional abuse in Western Australia’s history. The damages amounted to $2.846 million and this represented the first successful judgment against the State of Western Australia since [...]
Legislative Developments in the ACT: The Civil Law (Wrongs) (Organisational Child Abuse Liability) Amendment Bill 2025 By Walter Zhuang Background Last year in late 2024, the High Court handed down the decision in Bird v DP [2024] (a pseudonym) HCA 41 that severely hindered the prospects of success for survivors of institutional abuse. That decision [...]
Itani v State of New South Wales [2023] NSWDC 285 By Walter Zhuang Background The Plaintiff in this case was a victim of sexual assault whilst he was incarcerated in 2018. He reported the matter to the police on the same day as the sexual assault, and gave a statement to police two months later. [...]
State of New South Wales v T2 (by his tutor T1) [2025] NSWCA 165 By Walter Zhuang Background The Plaintiff was a 14-year-old boy who was seriously assaulted by another student (XY) shortly after school hours. After learning of the imminent threat at the school bus stop, he tried to re-enter the school to seek [...]
Primary School Sports Accidents – Stanberg v State of NSW [2025] NSWCA 127 By Walter Zhuang Background The Plaintiff was an 11-year-old boy who partook in a long-jump competition at his primary school. He completed several jumps without incident. However, after the fifth or sixth jump, his feet hit a hard surface in the sandpit [...]
If you have lived through childhood sexual abuse, you know the pain doesn’t end when the abuse stops. For many survivors, the trauma lingers—shaping how you feel, how you relate to others, and how you see yourself. This long-term impact often shows up as something called Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) or chronic PTSD. If you’ve ever [...]
Judgment Summary - Supreme Court New South Wales Court of Appeal Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle v AA [2025] NSWCA 72 Bell CJ, Leeming JA, Ball JA In 2024, AA brought proceedings against the Trustees for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle alleging that the Trustees had been negligent, had breached [...]
Physical Abuse – Hartnett v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes (No 7) By Walter Zhuang Background The plaintiff, Mr Albert Hartnett, claimed damages for personal injury in relation to “serious physical abuse” allegedly inflicted on him by two members of school staff while he was an student at Saint [...]
Childhood sexual abuse can have long-lasting effects on an individual's mental health, with anxiety being one of the most common consequences. In Australia, efforts are being made to address and treat anxiety arising from childhood sexual abuse, providing support and healing for survivors. Anxiety is a natural response to trauma, and survivors often experience heightened [...]