Susan McDonald (Queensland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

The coalition are supporting the Treasury Laws Amendment (The Survivors Law) Bill 2026 and we support survivors. Victims-survivors and their families have waited too long for this action. Australia's superannuation and bankruptcy laws have been weaponised by the worst criminals, and for far too long the parliament has failed to act. Under the current laws, perpetrators have been able to hide assets in superannuation and avoid paying court ordered compensation.

I want to acknowledge Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino for his work to get this law before the parliament, but we also want to acknowledge the work a former Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer, who began work on these reforms in 2018. But, most importantly, we thank the survivors, their families and their advocates, many of whom came to parliament in March, for both their bravery and their persistence. This reform is the result of years of advocacy by survivors and their advocates.

There is more work that could be done to strengthen the laws even further. Indeed, the 2018 reform work considered whether all victims of serious violent crime should be able to access a perpetrator's superannuation as compensation. But we will not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good, particularly when it comes to supporting victims of child sexual abuse. This is not a partisan issue. This should be one that unites the parliament in our shared goal to protect children and to rebuke predators.

Under the current law, we have a situation where paedophiles have been able to boast that their victims won't see a penny of their superannuation. Survivors should not have to fight their abusers once in court and then fight them all over again to get compensation. The current loophole has allowed perpetrators to shield assets in superannuation, declare bankruptcy and, worse, leave survivors with nothing. The Australian parliament is saying, with a unified voice, that enough is enough. Superannuation is for retirement. It should not be used to deny compensation to survivors of child sexual abuse. The coalition support this legislation and we thank the parliament.