15 September 2017



Matthew Groom, Acting Attorney-General

Time limitations for child abuse cases set to be abolished

The Hodgman Liberal Government is delivering on its commitment to make it easier for victims of child abuse to seek damages.

A draft Bill has now been released for public comment that will retrospectively remove time limitations to civil claims for damages for survivors of child sexual and physical abuse, in line with recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

This Bill recognises that survivors of sexual abuse find it incredibly difficult to report the crimes perpetrated against them to authorities, and this often impacts on when crimes are reported and civil litigation is taken.

The impact of child sexual abuse is significant and long lasting and the last thing survivors need is unnecessary roadblocks placed in their way when seeking justice.

Specifically, the draft Bill amends the Limitation Act to:

* Retrospectively abolish any limitation period for personal injury claim arising from physical or sexual abuse that occurred when the plaintiff was a child;

* Remove the need for a plaintiff, who may have recently been diagnosed with a serious illness, including dust related diseases, from having to overcome the additional hurdle of seeking leave from the court to actually bring an action, known as the “long-stop” period.

*Provide for a discretion to extend the limitation period for a further three years from the date of discoverability of the illness

The draft Bill also clarifies provisions relating to the extension of time for persons with a disability.

The Bill is available on the Department of Justice website www.justice.tas.gov.au along with details of how to provide feedback.

The closing date for the consultation process is 4 October 2017.

Serious sex offences against children will not be tolerated under the Hodgman Liberal Government, and this legislation builds on other measures we have taken to better protect children, including our commitment for minimum mandatory sentences for those who sexually abuse children.

We look forward to the legislation being tabled in Parliament later this year.

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