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📜 Civil Liability Amendment (Child Sexual Abuse Actions) Bill 2025

Legislative Council - Committee Report TabledLABill 4312 November 2025

This Bill amends the Civil Liability Act 2002 to establish a deemed employment relationship between religious institutions and religious practitioners in cases of child sexual abuse, addressing vicarious liability issues highlighted by the High Court.

Impact

This bill affects survivors of child sexual abuse within religious institutions by clarifying the employment relationship of religious practitioners, potentially easing the path to civil claims. It also impacts religious institutions by expanding their potential vicarious liability.

Key Changes

["Deems religious practitioners to be employees of religious institutions for child sexual abuse claims.", "Allows for the re-opening of previously finalised cases related to child sexual abuse within religious institutions under certain conditions.", "Addresses the implications of the High Court decision in Bird v DP."]

Parliamentary Progress

  1. LA Second Reading MovedLA12 Nov 2025
  2. LA IntroducedLA12 Nov 2025
  3. LA Second Reading SpeechLA12 Nov 2025
  4. LC Second Reading SpeechLC3 Dec 2025
  5. LA Second Reading AgreedLA3 Dec 2025
  6. LA Consideration in DetailLA3 Dec 2025
  7. LC First ReadingLC3 Dec 2025
  8. LC Second Reading MovedLC3 Dec 2025
  9. LA Third ReadingLA3 Dec 2025
Affected Sectors
justicepublic_sectorother
View on Parliament website →Bill PDFEM PDF

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