Abuse Law – Legislation Update – Australian Capital Territory

To commence an Australian Capital Territory childhood sexual or physical abuse claim, the initial steps are to obtain any relevant records and serve a Personal Injury Claim Notification form on the appropriate defendant entity. The next milestone step is for a claimant to attend a medico-legal examination (maybe two examinations) with the appropriate medical expert/s (in these cases it is typically with a psychiatrist, as the injuries sustained are psychological and psychiatric in nature). The medical expert/s will then provide a report that outlines their opinion on a number of factors including, but not limited to: 

• The psychiatric/ psychological injuries sustained; 
• Whether the claimant’s psychiatric/ psychological injuries are causally linked to the abuse; 
• The impact the injuries have had on the claimant’s ability to earn an income in the past; 
• The impact the injuries will have on the claimant’s future ability to earn an income; and 
• Recommendations on future treatment the claimant requires for their psychiatric/ psychological injuries.  

Once all of the medical evidence has been received, the parties will then work towards attending an informal settlement conference. In the event that a resolution is not able to be achieved at the informal settlement conference, the next step is to commence proceedings in the Court.   

We are specialist abuse lawyers and can help you receive acknowledgement, meaningful apology and financial resolution from those institutions and systems of power that failed to protect you from harm. If you would like advice in relation to a childhood or adult sexual, physical and/or psychological/emotional abuse claim in any jurisdiction in Australia, please reach out to the author, Emily Wright, at Littles Lawyers today. 

Further Abuse Law information and case law updates written by our Emily Wright can be found on our website.