Stacks Goudkamp’s Institutional Abuse lawyer, Alessandra Pettit, recently addressed the ACT Legislative Assembly to speak in support of a new Bill set to be introduced later this month by Shane Rattenbury, Leader of the ACT Greens. The proposed legislation aims to strengthen legal protections for survivors of institutional abuse by closing a significant gap in the law — specifically, by expanding institutional liability to include individuals in relationships “akin to employment.”
Currently, institutions can sometimes avoid liability when abusers are not formal employees, even if they are closely associated with the organisation — such as volunteers, contractors, or religious leaders. The new Bill seeks to ensure institutions can be held accountable for abuse perpetrated by those in positions of authority or trust, regardless of their technical employment status.
Alessandra’s address highlights the legal and practical barriers survivors face under the existing framework and emphasised the urgent need for reform. “To stand up in court is not an easy thing for anyone and then to have technical legal arguments take that away is really difficult,” she said “we spent $370 million on a royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and whilst a lot of the recommendations have been helpful, it seems to be a bit of a pendulum in this area that it keeps swinging each way
At Stacks Goudkamp, we are proud to support legal reform that strengthens the rights of survivors. We remain committed to advocating for fairer laws and providing compassionate, expert representation for those affected by institutional abuse.
