• Catholic Clergy Claims
    Catholic Clergy Claims
    Dr Vivian Waller has acted in claims against Catholic Clergy since 1995.
  • State Ward Claims
    State Ward Claims
    Dr Viv Waller has acted for former wards of the state of Victoria since 1997 when she commenced group litigation on behalf of many former residents of the Ballarat Orphanage who were abused in care.
  • The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
    The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
    Established in January 2013, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigated how institutions like schools, churches and sporting groups responded to allegations of child sexual abuse.

State Ward Claims

Dr Viv Waller has acted for former wards of the state of Victoria since 1997 when she commenced group litigation on behalf of many former residents of the Ballarat Orphanage who were abused in care.

State Wards Claims

OVERVIEW

Waller Legal has extensive experience in representing former State Wards in seeking compensation and justice.

Many former State Wards experienced abuse and ill treatment during their time in care.

If you were a State Ward then the Government was your legal guardian and was responsible for making sure you were properly cared for.  The relevant Department went by many names including the Children’s Welfare Department, the Social Welfare Department and the Department of Community Welfare Services and the Department of Health and Humans Services. In Victoria, it is now known as the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH). 

We have assisted many clients to pursue claims against the State of Victoria and receive compensation.  Sometimes the Department placed wards in homes and orphanages run by other organisations.  We seek compensation from those other organisations too, such as the Christian Brothers, who ran St Augustine’s Boys Home in Geelong and St Vincent’s Boys Home in South Melbourne.

We have successfully resolved many claims against the State, and other religious and non-government organisations, through a negotiated process.  Where negotiation does not deliver an appropriate result, we have also litigated cases against the State of Victoria.

In August 2015, Waller Legal represented two former State Wards who appeared as survivor-witnesses in the Child Abuse Royal Commission public hearing into State Run Youth Training and Reception Centres.  This hearing examined the experiences of former child residents at Turana Youth Training Centre, Winlaton Youth Training Centre and Baltara Reception Centre between the 1960s and early 1990s.

Waller Legal currently represents a large number of former State Wards in compensation claims in relation to abuse they experienced in these institutions. 

We also act for large numbers of men who were sexually abused in children's homes run by the Christian Brothers – St Augustine's in Geelong and St Vincent's in South Melbourne, in particular.

Waller Legal has experience representing former State Wards in relation to sexual abuse.  We have acted for care leavers from many institutions, including: 

  • Abbotsford Convent
  • Allambie
  • Anglicare
  • Ballarat Orphanage / Ballarat Children’s Home
  • Baltara Reception Centre
  • Bayswater Boys’ Home
  • Bendigo Training Centre
  • Box Hill Boys’ Home
  • Brophy Memorial Hostel
  • Burwood Boys’ Home
  • Glastonbury Orphanage
  • Good Shepherds Sisters Convent
  • Kardinia Children’s Home
  • Kent Town
  • Kildonan
  • Lyndon Lodge
  • Malmsbury Youth Training Centre
  • Menzies Home for Children
  • Morning Star Boys’ Home
  • Nazareth Boys’ Home
  • Nazareth House
  • Orana, the Peace Memorial Homes for Children
  • Royal Park Depot
  • Sandhurst Boys’ Home
  • St Aiden’s Orphanage
  • St Augustine’s Orphanage
  • St Catherine’s Children’s Home / St Catherine’s Orphanage
  • St John’s Home for Boys and Girls
  • St Vincent de Paul Girls Orphanage
  • St Vincent de Paul Black Rock
  • St Vincent’s South Melbourne
  • Tally Ho
  • Turana Youth Training Centre
  • Winlaton Youth Training Centre

 

 

If you wish to investigate a potential civil claim against the State Government, please call us on 03 9415 9999 to have a confidential discussion about your options.
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Testimonials
  • You are a wonderful warrior for truth and justice.

    Mary
  • I do not think that words can fully express my gratitude, but I will try.  It took me a number of years to decide to proceed with legal action for my abuse claim.  I had heard about Waller Legal from a friend and I must say that all he said was correct, in that they are awesome, sympathetic, etc.  But not ever what he told me prepared me for the experience that I had dealing with Waller Legal.  Firstly, Elisa.  You are a lovely empathetic soul who I truly felt comfortable dealing with.  You were even able to make me laugh on my down days of going through and discussing legal issues pertaining to my case.  It was a pleasure dealing with you. Thank you so much.

    Vivian Waller you too are amazing both as a person and as a legal representative.  I felt so comfortable with you from our very first meeting.  You spoke like a sister to me, not just as a lawyer.  Your legal ability is truly outstanding and you represented me with 110% effort always.  You made the hearing easy for me, as I had total confidence in you.

    For everyone who is hesitant to make a claim against an abuser, please do not hesitate to have Vivian and her staff represent you.  Truly amazing people.  Thanks so much again.

    JF
  • As a mother, I write to express my gratitude to you and your team for the support of my daughter following her sexual assault three years ago.  Although the bloke who assaulted her was not charged the dollars being awarded to her following your intervention certainly acknowledges the wrong that was done – and will I hope, help her to move on.  Thank you for the work you do.  With much gratitude and appreciation.

    PS
  • Six years after the settlement:

    It has been a long and well-travelled road for our girl, but I never thought I would see the day when she is as happy as she is now.  I was so happy when she decided to study nursing!  The settlement that she received enabled her to study full time over the past three years without having to worry about working while studying.

    What happened to our daughter, and to us as a family, will never go away, however, our daughter has managed to pick up the fragments of her life and move on. The horrors of what have happened will not disappear, perhaps just fade as more joyful occasions occur in her life.

    I want all of you to know what a tower of strength and support you were to all of us and that without you, our daughter’s life would have turned out very differently.

    You are always in our thoughts with gratitude for what you achieved.

    TJ
  • I have thought of you often and the journey and the process of the last couple of years.  As a survivor you can think that every end step will be closure—arrest, guilt, sentencing, criminal case finished, civil case complete.  But there is never really an end.  Each part of the process is just a step closer to healing and closure.  You and your staff did a fab job of walking me through the civil case.

    For six months the money has sat idle in an account I can’t touch.  It feels as though if I touch it I am accepting it as silence money and once again feeling gagged.  But I am getting there.  It will be used towards a fresh start.  Hope for a more whole and healed future.  Thank you for being part of the process.

    Thank you for your professionalism, support, and persistence.

    KD
  • What Dr Waller has achieved for me is nothing short of a miracle.  At the age of 60 I was feeling very upset at the abuse that I had encountered as a very young girl at the hands of a Salesian Brother.  My dealings with the Salesians many years later to try and resolve the matter left a very bitter taste in my mouth.  In fact, they made me feel abused all over again.  Vivian Waller was referred to me by Broken Rites, and that was the day my life changed.  I am so grateful that my words feel a little trite.

    Vivian has a no nonsense approach, keeps you on track, is honest, and like a dog with a bone, she keeps you going to have the desired outcome.  The world needs more Vivians.  Myself and my family are forever grateful to you.  Thanks mate, you’re my hero.

    Cathie
  • Thank you so much for your efforts in this matter, and your patience with my frustrations as well.

    BQ
  • Thank you for what you did, what you said and who you are, your thoughtfulness will always be remembered with more gratitude that you could ever know.

    Cheryl
  • It is with both great relief and admiration that I write this letter to you. A consummate professional and an amazingly beautiful human being you are. Thank you for doing such an exemplary job in resolving these issues for me, and supporting me with both compassion and instruction as my representative throughout this ordeal. I am painfully aware that no amount of retribution / compensation can replace what was taken, but I am hoping it can propel myself forward to achieve some sort of normality in my life. With respect and gratitude.

    JZ
  • Yes indeed, thank you Vivian for your perseverance and dedication in doing whatever you can to bring about some justice in the absence of a full ecclesiastical council/court to judge publicly those who have violated not only the natural law, but the law of God in whose name these violations have taken place.

    Kathleen
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