Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to start by thanking the brave victims and survivors who have lent their voices to this campaign. After unspeakable trauma and unimaginable grief, you've shown courage, strength and determination, making sure that no other victim will continue to suffer at the hands of their perpetrator long after a judgement is handed down. We owe you a great deal.

I say this unequivocally: our government is absolutely committed to holding perpetrators of child sexual abuse to account. The crimes they have committed are abhorrent. They should not have the opportunity to further add to someone's trauma by denying them the compensation that is rightfully owed. They should not be able to hide or avoid accountability, and that's what this bill will fix. It will close an unjust, unfair, cruel loophole that has been exploited by convicted sex offenders to hide their assets in superannuation. Meanwhile, victims and survivors have been left without the compensation that the courts have decided that they are owed. It will make sure that a court ruling in a victim or survivor's favour translates into real outcomes.

Where a court ordered compensation debt remains unpaid after 12 months, victims-survivors will be able to seek access through a court order to certain superannuation contributions that have been made by the perpetrator of the abuse. This includes additional personal and salary sacrifice contributions, which are often used as a way to shield assets from enforcement. This is practical, and it's targeted. It removes the ability for any perpetrator to wait out their obligations, protecting their financial position at the expense of a victim-survivor. Importantly, this bill ensures that compensation debts don't disappear through bankruptcy, not just for future bankruptcies but also for those currently in progress.

It is beyond imagining how absolutely, completely unprincipled the people who have taken advantage of these provisions in the past are. First of all, to sexually abuse a child, to have that proved, to have compensation awarded against you and then to deliberately shelter your assets from paying the compensation that has been justly awarded really does add the most incredible insult to a lifelong injury. We know that this is just one area where reform is badly needed. We are working across family, domestic and sexual violence to make sure that we are ending violence against women and children as a priority, and every single one of us in this place has a role to play. Child sexual abuse, of course, is a crime that doesn't just affect girls. It affects boys in too large numbers. It is important to understand that many grown women and men have a history of child sexual abuse that has followed them throughout their lives and impacted them throughout their lives.

So far, our government has worked with victims of child sexual abuse on measures like the memorial that will be opened in Canberra in coming years and the Orphanage Museum in Victoria as well. But, across sexual, family and domestic violence, we have invested more than any previous government, more than $4.4 billion in frontline services, in preventive programs and in behaviour-change programs right across government. We've made the leaving-violence payment permanent. We've launched Australia's first-ever standalone plan on family, domestic and sexual violence for First Nations women and children, backed by $218 million in the budget last night.

We've boosted funding for the 500 Workers program by more than 70 per cent. We've boosted funding for 1800RESPECT by 40 per cent. We've legislated to make sure that our social security system can't be weaponised by perpetrators of abuse. We've supported the recovery of children who've experienced violence, investing $81 million for services, including child-specific counselling. We've invested a record $3.9 billion in services, with an extra $800 million for family violence legal services. We've reformed the family law system so that it's safer, simpler and more accessible. And, Mr Deputy Speaker, you would know that last night in the budget we announced significant reforms to the child support system as well, to better protect children. We are doing so much in this area because it is such an enormous need in our community.

I do want to finish by repeating my thanks to the brave victims-survivors who've come forward to demand this change, for sharing their stories, for seeking justice and for fighting to fix something that, at its heart, is absolutely, demonstratively cruel and deeply unfair. I say to you again: thank you. I want you to know that this bill is a significant and necessary foundation, but we won't stop here. This lays the groundwork for future reforms, and we will keep working with you to keep future generations of children safe.

Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to thank the many members from across this chamber who have contributed to this debate, and I acknowledge the conviction and the compassion with which this important policy has been advocated for within the parliament. The Treasury Laws Amendment (The Survivors Law) Bill 2026 represents the best of this place, and I hope that our demonstration of unity and solidarity sends a powerful message to victims-survivors that the parliament is listening and that we are acting.

In particular, I want to thank the member for Boothby and the member for Eden-Monaro, who have advocated for this measure over a very long period of time. I would also like to acknowledge the member for Sydney, the Minister for Social Services, who just spoke powerfully on this issue; the Assistant Minister for Social Services, the member for Cooper; and the Attorney-General. I'd also like to thank the shadow assistant treasurer, the member for Page, and the former shadow assistant treasurer, the member for Cowper, for their engagement on this issue, along with the member for Fisher. Members across this chamber and senators in the other place from all political parties have contributed to the strength of this measure. This is truly a bill which the parliament has united behind.

I note the amendment of the member for Wentworth and thank her for her positive engagement on this issue. As the member rightly indicated in her speech, the government has committed to reviewing the legislation following its implementation. While we cannot support the member's substantive amendment to the bill, we remain committed to reviewing this legislation and to affirming that commitment in a way that can ensure confidence for survivors. I look forward to continuing to engage with the member on this measure and looking for all possible opportunities to strengthen it in the future.

This bill establishes a framework for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and other similar offences to seek visibility and release of certain amounts from a perpetrator's superannuation to satisfy unpaid compensation orders. It is directed at preventing superannuation being used to shield a perpetrator's assets from compensation, which can delay or deny compensation and add further distress to victims and survivors. This bill closes that loophole and affirms that financial systems must not operate in a way that undermines justice, and its passage is a testament to the strength and hope of survivors of child sexual abuse and their families. At its core, this bill is guided by a simple but fundamental principle: perpetrators of child sexual abuse should not be able to hide behind financial structures to avoid accountability. I commend this bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.