An international spotlight is shining starkly on Australia this weekend as representatives from the United Nations, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Chile, the UK, the US and Australia are gathering in Chicago for a three-day conference on sexual assault and the Catholic Church.

As the Australian speaker at this conference I am, inter alia, highlighting the fact that Australia continues to be the only country in the common law world in which there is no legal entity for the Catholic Church (and some other religious organisations) that can be sued by victims for the historical sex crimes of its clergy. This burdensome barrier to justice holds firm, despite the royal commission making a sound and easily implemented recommendation that, unless a proper defendant with sufficient assets to meet its liability is nominated by the church authority, then the property trust (the only legal entity that does exist) can be sued.

Illustration: Joe Benke

This recommendation, the implementation of which is the responsibility of our state and territory governments, was made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in its report on redress and civil litigation, published in September 2015. Critically, and unlike a recommendation of the earlier Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse, the royal commission's recommendation has both prospective and retrospective effects, meaning it would apply not only to future victims, but also to existing victims.

Thus far, the Victorian government has displayed leadership in implementing several recommendations for legal reform in both the civil and criminal jurisdictions. New criminal offences include a grooming offence, a mandatory reporting offence and an offence requiring those in authority in institutions who have knowledge of a risk of abuse and have the power or responsibility to reduce or remove the risk, but negligently fail to do so. These new criminal provisions can only apply prospectively – or to people who commit these crimes after the legislation is enacted.