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Australian taxpayers could be forced to cover up to $65m in payouts to hundreds of abuse victims when a failing arm of the Catholic church disappears, new court documents reveal.
Last month, the Christian Brothers, a Catholic order with a shocking record of child abuse, informed a court it was going broke and would not be able to afford to pay out survivors.
The move has affected hundreds of cases brought either through the civil courts or through the government-run national redress scheme, which allows survivors to seek capped amounts of compensation without going to court.
An actuarial report detailing the state of the Christian Brothers finances was released to the media on Monday, alongside other court documents.
The report reveals there are currently 340 redress claims involving the Christian Brothers, which will cost the religious order an estimated $25m.
But the report also predicts the Christian Brothers will be subject to another 590 redress claims, worth $40m, in future years.
In total, it is on the hook for 930 redress claims worth $65m.
The rules of the redress scheme make the federal government a “funder of last resort”.
That means that where an institution no longer exists or is unable to pay, the federal government is forced to step in and cover the costs.
The situation has prompted a withering response from the social services minister, Tanya Plibersek.
“Victim-survivors deserve to have those responsible for their abuse held accountable,” she said. “Christian Brothers should take responsibility for the harm members of their order have caused.
“Funder of last resort arrangements which call on taxpayer funds should be just that – the absolute last resort.”
The Christian Brothers is currently proposing a scheme that would sell off its remaining 36 properties and divide up the proceeds between a range of creditors, including survivors and the government. But the proceeds from those property sales will be nowhere near enough to cover survivors’ claims, and are likely to provide a fraction of what survivors are owed.
Survivors and plaintiff law firms are angry that the Christian Brothers has spent the past decade transferring vast and lucrative holdings of property to a separate entity, known as the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia, for nominal amounts of $1. That entity is resisting any attempt to sell off those properties to help pay survivors.
Plibersek said the government would take a “forensic approach” to the matter.
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“I want to assure victim-survivors that the Albanese Labor government will ensure the integrity of the National Redress Scheme is upheld, and applications naming Christian Brothers can continue to be lodged and will be determined in the usual way,” she said.
“The commonwealth, through the Department of Social Services, is participating in the current supreme court of New South Wales proceedings concerning the Christian Brothers’ proposed creditors’ scheme and is acting to ensure the interests of victim survivors and taxpayers are protected. We will be adopting a forensic approach to the Christian Brothers’ proposed financial restructure.”
The Guardian also revealed the Christian Brothers has used its dwindling finances to support nine convicted child abusers who remain in the order, and used two remaining properties to house brothers with horrific histories of abuse, including one who preyed on orphans and another who was kept in teaching positions for almost three decades after senior officials became aware of his offending.
The newly released court documents also reveal there is more property still that is owned by an entity known as the Brothers of the Christian Schools of Ireland, which is currently out of the reach of survivors and other creditors.
The court documents show the entity held net assets of $57m as at 31 December 2025. That has reduced rapidly to $47m in net assets by May this year.
The Christian Brothers is attempting to fold those assets into its proposed sell-off scheme, which could boost the funds available to survivors and other creditors.
Earlier this month, Plibersek expressed serious concern about the approach of the Christian Brothers. Speaking in parliament after revelations about the transfer of property to the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia, she said: “Growing up, I was taught that there was one church and one God, not multiple corporate entities that transfer assets for purposes that are yet to be made clear.
“The feeling that no one may be held to account for this abuse – that is perhaps even worse than the financial impacts … The idea that no one will be held to account for child sexual abuse, when it is identifiable where it happened and who was responsible, I think is devastating for victims and survivors.”
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