Collie, Alex --- "Book review: Institutional Abuse of Children: Legal Remedies and Redress in Australia by Bill Madden, Tina Cockburn and Benjamin Madden" [2019] PrecedentAULA 73; (2019) 155 Precedent 39

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INSTITUTIONAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN: LEGAL REMEDIES AND REDRESS IN AUSTRALIA

BY BILL MADDEN, TINA COCKBURN AND BENJAMIN MADDEN

Publisher: LexisNexis Butterworths

Publication date: 4 October 2019

Formats available: Book and eBook

Price: $135.00

By Alex Collie

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has had a significant impact on compensation claims for historical institutional abuse of children, both by bringing the issue directly to the public’s attention, and by the many statutory changes made or foreshadowed in the wake of the Royal Commission’s findings and recommendations. This has led to an increased focus on litigating and negotiating these kinds of claims. While it is a constantly evolving area of law, to date there has been a marked lack of consistency of approach across jurisdictions.

This new book, Institutional Abuse of Children: Legal Remedies and Redress in Australia, by Bill Madden, Tina Cockburn and Benjamin Madden outlines the development of legal responses to institutional abuse from within the common law framework to the multiple legislative changes following the Royal Commission. The book canvasses the issues relating to the liability of institutions for abuse; duties of institutions; and the impact of limitation periods and permanent stays of proceedings, clearly setting out how these issues differ across each state and territory. Significant cases regarding claims of institutional abuse are described; of particular interest is recent judicial opinion regarding permanent stays for historical claims.

One somewhat unique feature of institutional abuse litigation is the possibility, in some jurisdictions, of setting aside previously settled claims and deeds of release. These new provisions, including recent judicial interpretation of them, are also covered comprehensively. The book concludes with an extensive overview of the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, including how the Scheme operates, the process involved in filing applications for redress, and the internal and external review mechanisms available.

As noted in the book’s preface, prosecutions for child sexual assault in Australia have been reported as far back as the early days of the colony of NSW. However, only recently has the extent of the institutional abuse of children, particularly in the 20^th century, been fully revealed and the impact of that abuse fully understood. This new awareness has brought with it an increase in prosecutions, claims for compensation, and requests for apologies and acknowledgement in response to that abuse.

This book is an excellent resource either for lawyers acting for defendant institutions or for those representing survivors of institutional abuse. It will help lawyers navigate the new statutory landscape, and develop an understanding of the inconsistencies across the different states and territories. It is the first book of its kind to deal comprehensively with what is an increasingly significant category of compensation claims within Australia.

Alex Collie is an Associate for Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers, Sydney. EMAIL [e-mail].