New South Wales is set to follow Victoria’s lead in closing the Eilis defence, which prevents child abuse survivors suing the church.
The defence is named after John Eilis, who decided to take legal action against the Catholic church in 2002, but lost the case on appeal as the court found the church did not legally exist as its assets were held in a trust.
New South Wales attorney general Mark Speakman says institutions have been abject failures at reporting child sexual abuse in the past.
Survivors will be able to go through the national redress scheme or through civil litigation to address their experiences.