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Kennedys are most popular: within Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment and Transport topic(s) AA v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle [2026] HCA 2 Content warning: this article discusses child sexual abuse and may be distressing for some readers.

This week, the High Court of Australia delivered three significant judgments in historical abuse cases. These decisions will have broad implications for both survivors seeking to bring claims for vicarious liability of non-employees and for defendants seeking permanent stays due to the passage of time, loss of evidence, and death of witnesses. Below is a summary of each case.

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