More victims of one of Australia's worst pedophile priests are joining a legal action against the Catholic Church every day, a lawyer says.

Notorious pedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale is already serving a long jail stint and on Tuesday received another eight years after pleading guilty to 30 new charges against 14 boys and girls.

Lawyer Vivian Waller said 20 victims had joined the joint action against the Diocese of Ballarat so far, but she expected that number to grow.

She said the joint legal action would be the first to test the church's decision to take a less aggressive line on child sex abuse compensation cases.

Dr Waller said it may not just be victims whose cases had been tried in court who would come forward.