Child abuse survivors can apply to re-litigate settled claims from 1 August 2022

In 2021, the South Australian Parliament passed legislation allowing settlements reached against the South Australian Government, Churches, Schools or other South Australian run institutions to be set aside for compensation claims relating to childhood sexual abuse or serious physical abuse. The new legislation is important as many survivors of childhood sexual abuse resolved their claims in the past for amounts significantly lower than what they could have achieved if the previous barrier of bringing the claim within the strict three year time limit was not in place.

The legislation also allows survivors of childhood sexual or serious physical abuse to bring a claim against institutions that hid their assets in trusts or were unincorporated organisations.

While the legislation was passed in 2021, it was not activated straight away.  

In a media release made to ABC News on 28 July 2022, South Australian Attorney General Kyam Maher announced that the legislation will be activated on Monday, 1 August 2022, which he noted was two months earlier than originally estimated.  

In order for the legislation to be activated, the South Australian Government was required to gazette the amendments.  The activation of the new legislation was confirmed in the South Australian Government Gazette published on 28 July 2022.  

The new legislation provides that for the previous settlement to be set aside, a Court needs to find that it is just and reasonable to do so.  There are various considerations for a court to determine whether setting the settlement agreement aside is just and reasonable, which include:

• The extent to which the need to seek an extension of time to bring the claim contributed to the settlement; and
• The circumstances in which the settlement agreement was negotiated.

The legislation does not allow an acceptance of a redress offer to be set aside. If a redress offer has been accepted, then this legislation is unable to assist a survivor to pursue a claim for further compensation.

If you have resolved a compensation claim for childhood sexual abuse or serious physical abuse against a church, school, institution or the South Australian Government, and would like to know if you are entitled to claim further compensation, contact MKF Lawyers for advice by emailing us at info@mkflawyers.com.au or calling us on 08 7093 2998.

‍

Matt DeGregorio, Katie Sajatovic and Floyd Bakewell of MKF Lawyers have collectively assisted hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse and serious physical abuse secure compensation from Churches, Schools, the South Australian Government and various institutions, and are all experts in this area of legal practice. MKF Lawyers can accommodate a request for a male or female lawyer to discuss setting aside a previous settlement agreement and for that lawyer to then manage the claim until final resolution.