Victims of crime

• ‘Special Financial Assistance’ for Victorian victims halved

  4th May 2017

  The VOCAT can only offer victims of the worst crimes, with the worst outcomes, up to $10,000 for any grief, distress, trauma or injury.

• ‘Blind reporting’ of child sex allegations won't protect victims

  23rd Jun 2015

  Blind reporting of child sex allegations by the Catholic Church may be protecting abusers and those who knew and failed to act, as well as placing the NSW police service in breach of its obligations to the public and potentially of the criminal law, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• Call for Catholic Church to come clean on real abuse numbers – ALA

  9th Jun 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling on Catholic Church to come clean to the Victorian child sexual abuse inquiry and reveal the accurate number of victims known to it.

• Pell’s apology must be backed up with compensation – ALA

  28th May 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling on the Roman Catholic Church to put its money where its mouth is and use the vast wealth of assets at its disposal to properly compensate victims who fell and continue to fall prey to paedophile priests.

• Bad legislation likely in NSW if push to gag CLCs goes ahead – ALA

  24th May 2013

  Badly formed laws, which have the potential to destroy many vulnerable people’s lives, are more likely to pass through NSW Parliament, if a push by the O’Farrell government to gag community legal centres from speaking out against injustice is allowed to go ahead.

• Vulnerable NSW children likely to suffer if victim comp law is passed

  24th May 2013

  Vulnerable children removed from their natural parents because of drugs, mental illness, violence and neglect, will be made even more vulnerable if new NSW compensation legislation is passed through parliament next week, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said.

• NSW time limits will wipe sexual assault victims rights to comp - ALA

  14th May 2013

  “The Anglican Survey of Child Sexual Abuse by clergy in the Brisbane area showed an average time from abuse to first complaint of 19.5 years,” Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Dr Andrew Morrison SC said today.

• Changes to NSW victim comp laws to impact battered women – ALA

  10th May 2013

  Victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, some abused for many years and who have debilitating physical and psychological injuries, as well as dependent children, will face an uncertain future under a Bill before NSW Parliament, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.

• Cardinal Pell must publicly accept church abuse to start true healing

  16th Nov 2012

  “Cardinal George Pell must publicly acknowledge the widespread existence of child sexual abuse within the Australian Roman Catholic Church if he is genuinely concerned for victims and wants their true healing to start,” Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Andrew Morrison SC said today.

• Royal Commission into child sex abuse is first stage of justice

  13th Nov 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling on the federal government to draw knowledge from Ireland’s victim restitution methods of 2009 when it comes time to consider how best to help compensate Australian institutional abuse victims as part of the Federal Royal Commission just announced.

• Royal Commission powers needed for NSW Inquiry into child sex abuse

  12th Nov 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance says a full, wide-ranging NSW Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in religious institutions is the only way of ensuring true justice is served for hundreds abused as children while in the care of religious institutions in the state.

• ALA renews calls for NSW Royal Commission into child sex abuse

  9th Nov 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance has renewed its call for a NSW Royal Commission into child sex abuse in religious institutions following further evidence by a senior police officer on the extent of abuse and alleged cover up practices in the Newcastle Hunter region.

• ALA renews calls for Royal Commission into child sex abuse

  11th Sep 2012

  The ALA renews its calls for a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in religious institutions, following Anglican Bishop Brian Farran’s support for an open inquiry.

• Slavery and exploitation in Australia needs addressing - ALA

  29th Aug 2012

  Victims of trafficking and slavery within Australia need better assistance under Australian law to ensure greater opportunities to heal from their traumatic experiences, the Australian Lawyers Alliance told a federal Inquiry into the issue in Canberra today.

• Failure to report may go straight to the top

  10th Jul 2012

  The allegations of failure to disclose serious sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia may now go right to the top.

• DPP should be briefed by police: Failure to report child sexual abuse

  6th Jul 2012

  The ALA calls for a brief to be prepared by the police for the DPP in respect of the conduct of all three senior priests involved in the meeting at St Mary’s Cathedral on 3 September 1992, following the radio interview with Father Usher on ABC AM this morning.

• ALA renews calls for national inquiry into child sex abuse in church

  5th Jul 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance renews its calls for a national inquiry into the abuse of children within the Roman Catholic Church. It is unacceptable for the Church to investigate its own failure to investigate child sexual abuse.

• Call for Royal Commission into abuse of children in care of church

  4th Jul 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling for a National Royal Commission into abuse of children in the care of the Catholic Church, following an ABC Four Corners program on Monday night that assisted in publicly ventilating the issue.

• ALA calls for National Inquiry into sexual abuse of children

  19th Apr 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance today called for a National Inquiry into sexual abuse perpetrated in religious institutions.