Christian Brothers granted moratorium on abuse victim payouts amid funding fears

The Christian Brothers religious order has secured a moratorium on all civil claims concerning child sexual abuse payouts. The NSW Supreme Court granted the order a pause on current cases, accepting arguments that the order was at risk of depleting its funds.

Lawyers for the Christian Brothers told the court the order had $23 million in cash but was losing about $1.7 million each week since October to victim payouts. This moratorium will halt all ongoing cases, including those already settled but not yet paid.

The court heard that the Christian Brothers' creditors scheme aims to distribute funds equitably among all creditors, including abuse claimants. Lawyers for the order argued that a moratorium would "preserve" the opportunity for victims to seek compensation under this scheme, which could be lost otherwise.

Victim lawyers requested time to advise "vulnerable victim-survivors." Justice Scott Nixon acknowledged the risk of the order running out of money, stating the moratorium was necessary to "preserve the opportunity for the scheme to be considered by claimants."

Outside court, Christian Brothers' solicitor Daniel Maloney declined to comment on the hearing or concerns about asset transfers to Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), an entity established in 2007 to manage schools previously run by the order. A further hearing is set for September 21 to finalize the creditors scheme.

“

I'm satisfied that the moratorium order should be granted in order to preserve the opportunity for the scheme to be considered by claimants, given that opportunity may be lost.