Institutional and childhood abuse lawyers in the Northern Territory

In some cases, we can help if you were hurt by a person but not in the care of a place like a school or camp. This might be a family member or someone in your community. 

We can only help if:

1. The abuse happened when you were a child
2. The person who hurt you is still alive, and
3. The person who hurt you has financial assets, like they own a house 

If your situation doesn't meet these requirements, we unfortunately cannot help you with a legal claim. The reason is that the person might not be able to pay compensation, and we don't want to put you through a legal process if we are not confident we can get a good outcome. 

We encourage you to contact the Law Society of the Northern Territory to find a lawyer who can help. 

The Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme gives money and help for wellbeing to people who were removed from their families or communities in the NT, ACT and Jervis Bay Territory in a certain time period. 

If you make a claim with this scheme, you are still able to make a claim for abuse suffered as part of your removal from community. Our lawyers can help explain how this works and what choices you have.  

• 13YARN 
  You can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 any time of the day or night and talk to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, if you are feeling worried or no good. 
  
  
• Sexual Assult Referral Centres (SARC) in NT 
  SARC provides counselling, support, medical help and education for adults and children who have been sexually assaulted at any time in their life. They have offices in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs and also have after-hours care. 
  You can call them on:
  Darwin: 08 8922 6472
  Katherine: 08 8973 8524
  Tennant Creek: 08 8962 4361
  Alice Springs: 08 8955 4500
  
  
• Lifeline
  Lifeline has 24 hour access to crisis support and suicide prevention. You're not alone, and you can call them on 13 11 14, text or chat online. 

If you are the legal guardian of a person who has experienced abuse, you may be able to bring a claim on their behalf. You can also act as a support person for someone else, which can include things like being included in communications, and coming to meetings. 

When we first meet with you, we'll ask you to share your story. You'll have time and space to tell it on your own terms. We will also ask you questions to help find the documents for your claim. 

Most of our cases will settle out of court, so you won't need to go. But if the matter does have to go to trial, it's also rare that the perpetrator will be there. We will make sure that we explain everything that will happen, and when and how we can support you. 

It can take more than a year to run claims like this. That includes gathering all of the evidence, preparing documents, and having meetings with the people who represent the place where the abuse happened. We will always tell you our best guess for how long things will take. 

We run our abuse cases on a No win, no fee* basis which means if we start a claim with you, we believe it has a good chance of success. If the case can't go on for some reason, you won't have to pay any legal fees. 

Many of the cases we run happened a long time ago. We know that it can take many, many years to feel strong enough to come forward and tell your story. When you're ready, we can help you understand what legal options you have.