Rachel spoke on the Wrongs Amendment (Vicarious Liability) Bill 2025, which was debated on Wednesday the 14th of May. This bill was presented by Rachel on behalf of Legalise Cannabis Victoria, intending to close a legal loophole impacting victim-survivors of historical child sexual abuse. In 2024, the High Court ruled that vicarious liability for these crimes could not exist in the absence of an employer/employee relationship. This has created a major barrier to accessing legal justice for victim-survivors of historical crimes which must be urgently amended.
Wednesday the 14th of May 2025,
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
Firstly, I would just to acknowledge everyone who has made a contribution today, and I really appreciate how respectful you have all been in your contributions. I will just take on a few points of what has been raised, particularly around exactly why we need legislative reform here and obviously the decision of the Supreme Court overturned by the High Court. Ms Crozier, in your contribution, thank you so much for not only what you have said but also the previous work that you have done in this space. I will take issue with what the government has raised around needing to take more legal advice and more consultation, because we know that the Attorney-General in Victoria is taking the lead with the Standing Council of Attorneys-General, but realistically when you have got all the chief lawmakers of every state, territory and federal government in one room, surely that is legal precedence to come together – they are the legal minds of this country. The Bird v. DP decision was handed down in November last year; that is over six months ago. We know from survivors that this has been catastrophic, and to not acknowledge that this needs to be done with a sense of urgency I think is a failure on the part of the government. I look forward to continuing to work with them on progressing this issue.
But the contributions that we have found most invaluable are not those that were heard in this chamber today; they are those from the many people who have reached out to my office – victim-survivors and their friends and families who spoke with us, shared their stories and told us about how important it was that these laws in Victoria be changed. I would also like to especially acknowledge those victims-survivors and their advocates who are sitting in the chamber with us today and those who are watching online: thank you for your contributions towards this debate.
I would like to make a special thanks to Karen, who is a coordinator of the Victorian Survivors and Supporters and the Beaumaris and Surrounding Communities – CSA Survivors and Families groups, and acknowledge that Karen’s brother Ian is a deceased victim of child sexual abuse. Your tireless advocacy has not gone unnoticed, and thank you for all of your incredible support to me especially over these last few months. We appreciate all of you coming all this way, and we also want to recognise that those who are unable to make it here today are watching on at home, and I want to pay particular attention to the point and make reference to the fact that I stand with you on this road to justice.
With a change like this, it really does take a village. I would like to thank all the stakeholders I have been able to speak with about this issue over the last few months and the many groups who have endorsed this bill. To the Australian Lawyers Alliance, who represent survivors of institutional abuse, we thank you for graciously providing de-identified client cases and for your sage advice when it came to crafting this legislation.
We would also like to thank the teams at Slater and Gordon, In Good Faith Foundation, Knowmore and Judy Courtin Legal, to name a few. You all do incredible work, and your passion for helping victims-survivors access justice is incredibly clear. It is a testament to the importance of this issue that over 21,000 people have signed a petition calling on governments to urgently introduce retrospective legislation to right this terrible wrong. To all those echoing the call for change, I thank you. It would not have been possible to get here without all of you.
While we have been reassured by the government that they are looking into reforms on vicarious liability, we are here today to ensure that this is done urgently. There are hundreds if not thousands of victim-survivors stuck in legal limbo because the system that is meant to be helping them has been a hindrance for many years. The longer we take, the more cases are lost, never taken to court or negotiated out of court for a measly sum. We have already heard of instances where institutions and their legal representatives try and point to Bird v. DP in matters that appear unrelated to justify often little or no compensation to victim-survivors. This is not unexpected.
Institutions like the church have a dark history of avoiding accountability and exploiting legal loopholes at the expense of the thousands of children they allowed to be abused for decades. People in power looked the other way, and instead of being pushed, priests are often conveniently relocated. Grotesquely, this evasion of guilt continues to this day. We see it with the arguments put forward in Bird v. DP. We see it with the issue of permanent stays in many other places where the church seeks to try and escape accountability. Some may argue this is par for the course and it is the law that is wrong and must be changed. Granted, we agree with you, and that is why we stand before you today with this bill. At the same time, when you see statement after statement from the church absolving themselves from wrongdoing and consistently failing to identify and empathise with victims, the need for change is not just with the legislature.
We call on all institutions going through the legal system to consider what is really at stake and what they are winning or losing. We are hopeful that this government is sincere in their commitment to reforming vicarious liability laws here in Victoria. Victoria has never been afraid to lead the nation when it comes to changing the laws to provide justice for victims-survivors, and it is time to not be afraid yet again. We welcome the government’s words of support and appreciate these reforms are necessarily complex and require due diligence. With that being said, if the government fail to act swiftly on reforms, you can rest assured that we will hold them to account.
In closing, thank you again to all who graciously shared their time and their stories. We will continue to push this government to act, and we stand with you on the road to justice.
Resources:
> Justice for Victim Survivors – Rachel Payne
> Wrongs Amendment (Vicarious Liability) Bill 2025 | legislation.vic.gov.au
> Vicarious liability law reform is a matter of urgency – Rachel Payne
> Support Services – Rachel Payne
External:
> Wrongs Amendment (Vicarious Liability) Bill 2025 | legislation.vic.gov.au
