Protecting victim-survivors from claim farming
The Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Act 2026 protects victim-survivors of child abuse and personal injury claimants from pressure to apply for compensation.
The Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Bill 2026 passed in the Legislative Assembly on 6 May, and commenced on 16 May 2026. The amendments are now in force as part of the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002.
About the reform
‘Claim farming’ means that someone is pressured by a lawyer or another person to make a personal injury or redress compensation claim. These claims may benefit the claim farmer financially.
A factsheet for lawyers [PDF 316kB] explains the claim farming reforms and their professional obligations.
Claim farmers pressure vulnerable people to make claims, including:
- redress for institutional child abuse
- compensation for personal injury
Claim farmers target vulnerable people through:
- repeated contact
- misleading conduct
- hidden fees
- pressure to hand over personal information.
The amended Civil Law (Wrongs) Act means a claim farmer cannot pressure someone to make a personal injury or redress claim for a fee or benefit. The Act holds claim farmers responsible if they do this.
The Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Act 2026 introduced two new offences:
- Contacting someone to convince them to make a redress or personal injury claim and getting a fee or benefit because of the contact.
- Giving or receiving a fee or benefit (or arranging for someone else to give or receive a fee or benefit) for a claim referral.
These offences apply to conduct about:
- personal injury claims
- redress claims under the National Redress Scheme.
The law does not affect:
- genuine support services
- legitimate legal assistance
- law firms advertising in their normal course of business.
The Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Act 2026 also:
- updates the Legal Profession Act 2006 to treat claim farming as unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct by lawyers
- introduces a non-delegable duty which makes organisations liable for physical and sexual child abuse by persons associated with the organisation (unless they can prove they took reasonable steps to prevent it).
Why it’s important
Claim farming harms people by:
- using their harmful experiences for profit
- putting their personal information at risk it is passed between lawyers.
It can increase the trauma experienced by victim‑survivors of child abuse and personal injury and discourage them from accessing redress or seeking legal advice.
Our community has concerns about the impact of claim farming on vulnerable people. By making this reform, the ACT will join New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia who have all prohibited claim farming.
The law reforms aim to:
- protect victim-survivors of child abuse and those making a personal injury claim from harassment and exploitation from claim farming
- strengthen access to justice and allow victim-survivors to pursue redress on their own terms.
What we’ve achieved
In November 2024, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on the Implementation of the National Redress Scheme recommended state and territory reforms to:
- ban claim farming and contingency fees charged by lawyers for providing services related to the National Redress Scheme
- set practice standards for lawyers and advocates providing services related to the National Redress Scheme.
The Civil Law (Wrongs) Amendment Act 2026 addresses a ban on claim farming and contingency fees.
Law practices convicted of claim farming:
- need to refund costs already paid by victims
- are not able to charge or recover costs for the claims.
The Act also introduces a non‑delegable duty for organisations in relation to physical and sexual child abuse by persons associated with the organisation. This duty:
- implements the ACT Government’s commitments following the Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse
- aligns with laws already in place in NSW, Victoria, the NT, Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia.