Thursday, 31 July 2025

South-Eastern Metropolitan Region

Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:47): (1705) My constituency question is for the Attorney-General. My constituent is a resident of Frankston and one of many victim-survivors affected by a recent High Court decision limiting vicarious liability to employment settings. Victim-survivors of institutional child sexual abuse will now struggle to access justice where their perpetrator was not an employee. Earlier this year when we introduced a private members bill to address this issue we drew no distinction on the types of institutions it applied to, because child abuse can and does occur anywhere. While it was pleasing to see the Victorian government commit to changing the law by the end of the year, my constituent is concerned that the government’s legislation may not include sporting organisations or some volunteers. So my constituent asks: will the government ensure that changes to vicarious liability laws apply to all institutions?