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

Referred to Standing Committee on LegislationLABill 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 in the Bird v DP case. It allows for the possibility of re-opening previously finalised cases.

Impact

This bill affects survivors of child sexual abuse within religious institutions in Western Australia by making it easier to sue the institutions for the actions of their religious practitioners. It also affects religious institutions by potentially increasing their liability in such cases and allowing previously settled cases to be re-opened.

Key Changes

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