Offending Institutions

The Commission examined the failure of institutions like churches, schools, children’s homes and sporting clubs to protect children from sexual abuse. While child sexual abuse also occurs in families and social environments, the Royal Commission’s terms of reference restricted its inquiry to institutional settings. This focus enabled the Commission to recommend legal and regulatory reforms to prevent such abuse from ever happening again. Some of the institutions that were investigated in Royal Commission public hearings included:

• Catholic Church
• Scouts
• YMCA
• North Coast Children’s Home
• Salvation Army
• Catholic Education Office (Diocese of Toowoomba)
• Parramatta Girls Training Home and the Institution for Girls Hay
• St Ann’s Special School (Adelaide)
• Christian Brothers 
• Marist Brothers
• Catholic Dioceses of Wollongong and Melbourne 
• Retta Dixon Home
• Australian Christian Churches
• Satyananda Yoga Ashram
• >Yeshiva Melbourne and Bondi
• Knox Grammar School
• St Joseph’s Orphanage
• Brisbane Grammar School and St Paul’s School
• Church of England Boys’ Society (CEBS)
• Anglican Diocese of Newcastle

On the 15th of December, the Royal Commission sat for the final time and has since handed down its recommendations to the Government and institutions. The Commissioners recommended the establishment of a National Redress Scheme. The Scheme was designed to provide compensation for survivors of institutional abuse for counselling and their years of trauma. The compensation would come from the offending institutions. This, however, required all offending institutions to sign up to the Scheme. Signing up was not mandatory. As of December 2020, all institutions had signed up for the Scheme except for Fairbridge Restored Limited. Because of the nature of the Scheme, survivors of abuse within these institutions will not be able to apply for compensation through the Scheme. However, there are other ways to win compensation from the institution that abused you. A civil compensation claim is an effective back door to compensation – it often generates more compensation than the National Redress Scheme would offer. Kelso Lawyers are Australia’s number one choice for civil compensation claims. We have uncovered tens of millions of dollars for our clients. Get in touch to start your claim today, or explore the offending institutions below for more information.