Question & Answer – TasVOCAL Legal Assistance Concerns Raised

June 24, 2026

Meg Webb MLC submitted the following question Without Notice on Thursday 11 June 2026, with the Answer provided in Parliament on Wednesday 24 June 2026.

11 June 2026

I (Ms Webb) tomorrow to ask the Honourable Leader of the Government —

Regarding the TasVOCAL service, which provides legal advice and support services around options for the National Redress Scheme, civil litigation, victims of crime compensation, police contacts and therapeutic options for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Tasmania, can the government please detail:
Whether survivors had been advised TasVOCAL would be available as part of Tasmania’s response to the Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings?
Whether TasVOCAL’s resourcing is reliant on a sole legal practitioner, or multiple?
The current status of any TasVOCAL legal practitioners available to provide services and:
1. whether any practitioners are on leave as of 11 June 2026?
2. The dates leave commenced and ended, or are expected to end, for any legal practitioners since, and including, 1 January 2025;
Whether there are any contingency plans in place should any or all TasVOCAL’s legal practitioners take leave, and if so please provide the details of any such contingency plans?;
Any efforts made to track whether survivors have been impacted by the lack of available TasVOCAL legal services, either by data collection recording requests for assistance unable to be provided, or other means;
Current efforts being taken by the government to ensure survivors currently have access to independent legal advice; and
Whether and how the government considers the current resourcing and focus of the TasVOCAL services delivers on its undertakings to fully implement the Commission of Inquiry recommendations, and in accordance with the intent of those recommendations?

Government Response

1. Regarding the TasVOCAL service, which provides legal advice and support services around options for the National Redress Scheme, civil litigation, victims of crime compensation, police contacts and therapeutic options for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Tasmania, can the government please detail:

2. Whether survivors had been advised TasVOCAL would be available as part of Tasmania’s response to the Commission of Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings?

TasVOCAL was launched on 21 August 2024 as part of the Tasmanian Government’s response to the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.

TasVOCAL is funded by the Tasmanian Government and delivered through Tasmania Legal Aid and provides free, independent and confidential legal advice.

3. Whether TasVOCAL’s resourcing is reliant on a sole legal practitioner, or multiple?

There is currently one legal practitioner responsible for TasVOCAL.

4. The current status of any TasVOCAL legal practitioners available to provide services and:

1. whether any practitioners are on leave as of 11 June 2026?
2. The dates leave commenced and ended, or are expected to end, for any legal practitioners since, and including, 1 January 2025;

The Government does not provide personal information in relation to the leave arrangements of individual State Servants.

In general terms, during leave periods, arrangements are in place to ensure continuity of service, with individuals seeking assistance being referred to Knowmore, a nationally funded specialist legal service for victim-survivors of child abuse.

5. Whether there are any contingency plans in place should any or all TasVOCAL’s legal practitioners take leave, and if so please provide the details of any such contingency plans?;

During periods of TasVOCAL practitioner absence, individuals seeking assistance are referred to the Knowmore Legal Service, a nationally funded specialist legal service for victim-survivors of child abuse. TLA also continue to assist survivors with their legal options regarding compensation and redress options.

6. Any efforts made to track whether survivors have been impacted by the lack of available TasVOCAL legal services, either by data collection recording requests for assistance unable to be provided, or other means;

TasVOCAL provided 154 services to child abuse survivors in 2024-25 and 159 services this financial year.

There is no formal data collection mechanism to track unmet demand or instances where services could not be provided.

7. Current efforts being taken by the government to ensure survivors currently have access to independent legal advice; and

The Government remains committed to ensuring victim-survivors have access to independent legal advice at all times.

Current arrangements include:

Referral pathways to Knowmore Legal Service, which provides free, confidential legal support nationally.
Continuation of TasVOCAL services outside periods of staff absence.

These measures ensure that, even when TasVOCAL capacity is temporarily reduced, survivors retain access to appropriate and specialist legal assistance.

8. Whether and how the government considers the current resourcing and focus of the TasVOCAL services delivers on its undertakings to fully implement the Commission of Inquiry recommendations, and in accordance with the intent of those recommendations?

Our Government has committed to implementing all recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

The design and delivery of TasVOCAL are consistent with the intent of the Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations.

Key principles reflected in the service include: