{"id":58405,"date":"2026-07-26T00:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T00:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/58405\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T00:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T00:32:12","slug":"nsw-government-announces-inquiry-into-counselling-records-of-sexual-assault-victim-survivors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/58405\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW Government announces inquiry into counselling records of sexual assault victim-survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NSW Government has announced a landmark inquiry to determine better ways to protect the sexual assault counselling records of victim-survivors following explosive revelations published by news.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The moves comes after news.com.au exposed in March that pedophiles and sex offenders are<\/p>\n

routinely accessing their victims\u2019 confidential counselling notes, through lawful subpoenas.<\/p>\n

In at least three known cases, those notes were then also shared with the media, against the victims wishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the criminal justice system can be difficult and retraumatising for victim-survivors of sexual violence,\u201d NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley, who has commissioned the research, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the Government is looking at ways to improve the experience of complainants in criminal proceedings.\u201d <\/p>\n

The year-long research project, which will be led by Professor Rita Shackel at the University of Sydney, will include interviews with victim-survivors and counsellors, and will report back to the Department of Communities and Justice in June next year.<\/p>\n

It will examine how often sexual assault victims\u2019 counselling notes are being subpoenaed and how this affects their experience of the court process, and their willingness to continue seeking justice, counselling and other support. The research team will also audit case files and analyse court transcripts. <\/p>\n

Currently, victim-survivors whose notes are subpoenaed are able to access legal advice and support through a program run by NSW Legal Aid.<\/p>\n

The research will analyse the existing legal protections, and consider alternative models including an absolute privilege, similar to that enjoyed by priests or lawyers.<\/p>\n

Jess Denham, who spearheaded news.com.au\u2019s Keep Counselling Confidential campaign after her own notes were read by the two pedophiles who abused her, has welcomed the research project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis announcement is a positive step, and for many victim-survivors it offers hope that they are being heard,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone whose confidential counselling notes were subpoenaed and shared with my abusers, I know first-hand how devastating and invasive that process can be. Counselling should be a safe place to heal, not something victim-survivors fear could later be exposed in a courtroom and shared with their abusers and third parties. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hope this leads to meaningful reform that protects victim-survivors\u2019 privacy, dignity and access to support.\u201d<\/p>\n

NSW Women\u2019s Safety Commissioner Hannah Tonkin has also welcomed the announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo victim-survivor should have to choose between seeking justice and seeking therapy to support their healing. This research will help identify potential reforms to improve legal protections for victim-survivors\u2019 counselling records and ensure they can access support without fear of repercussions.\u201d <\/p>\n

More than 13,000 people have signed news.com.au\u2019s petition<\/a> for law reform. <\/p>\n

Victim-survivor advocates Madeline Lane and Sarah Rosenberg also spoke out as part of news.com.au\u2019s exclusive coverage after their own counselling files were accessed via subpoenas. <\/p>\n

Ms Lane, who was raped by Mosman man Boyd Kramer in April 2020, contacted 1800 RESPECT in the immediate aftermath of the crime. Later, a transcript of that counselling contact was shared with Kramer and read out in court, humiliating Ms Lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an attack on my soul,\u201d said Ms Lane.<\/p>\n

The government-funded service receives and responds to an average of one subpoena per week, according to recent data obtained by news.com.au under Freedom of Information.<\/p>\n

Ms Rosenberg also had her counselling and medical notes accessed and said they were weaponised against her in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter my files were subpoenaed, the foundation to feel mistrust was seeded \u2026 I didn\u2019t see (my doctors) for months afterwards,\u201d she told news.com.au in April. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact I\u2019d been to a psychologist and a psychiatrist was used (in court) to suggest I was mentally unstable and unwell, and therefore unreliable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea they could twist the information like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man was ultimately found not guilty on all six charges.<\/p>\n

Workers welcome announcement after one counsellor was jailed<\/p>\n

Sexual assault services, counsellors and the unions that support them have also welcomed the announcement, after one rape crisis counsellor was jailed for contempt of court after she refused to hand over her client\u2019s confidential counselling file on principle.<\/p>\n

\u201cImproving protections for counselling notes is one way to make progress in a system that routinely retraumatises victim-survivors,\u201d Full Stop Australia chief executive Karen Bevan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter almost 53 years of providing sexual assault telephone counselling in NSW, Full Stop Australia is keen to see serious consideration of this issue.\u201d <\/p>\n

In 1995, Dianne Lucas, the manager of sister-service The Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, was jailed after the service received its first ever subpoena for client notes. <\/p>\n

Ms Lucas refused to comply, saying other survivors would also lose faith and confidence in the service if she did.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe magistrate sent me to jail. Even the police officers who had to escort me to the jail cell were stunned that he\u2019d actually done that,\u201d she told news.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took my shoelaces and my belt. It was at the end of the year, and I thought \u2018Oh my god, they will have me in jail for Christmas, what about the kids?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Lucas\u2019s bravery sparked the first advocacy efforts to ban subpoenas for sexual assault counselling notes, and in 1997, the first legislation was introduced to give victim-survivors some rights.<\/p>\n

But over time, those protections have proved inadequate, and counselling notes are still regularly subpoenaed. <\/p>\n

Research released earlier this month by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that of 145 sexual assault victims who responded to a survey, 28 per cent (41) had their counselling or medical notes sought as part of a criminal trial.<\/p>\n

Of respondents who were questioned about their private information in court, just over half (56 per cent) said they had been cautioned that this might happen.<\/p>\n

Unions NSW, which has partnered on the current campaign, said when this happens, it doesn\u2019t only impact survivors, it also impacts the workers whose notes are being sought.<\/p>\n

\u201cTherapy sessions should not become a weapon in the hands of defence lawyers,\u201d Unions NSW president Mark Morey said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re glad the Government is taking this seriously and look forward to working with them to make sure the research leads to positive change.\u201d <\/p>\n

In April, the Victorian Government announced it would introduce legislation to better protect counselling records and health information of sexual assault complainants in court.<\/p>\n

The NSW Government\u2019s latest research announcement forms part of a wider $4.9 million investment to improve victim-survivor experiences of the justice system, included in the 2026-2027 NSW Budget.<\/p>\n

Nina Funnell is a Walkley Award-winning journalist and the creator of the Keep Counselling Confidential campaign. In June, she was named Freelance Journalist of the Year at the Mid-Year Walkley Awards for her reporting on this campaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NSW Government has announced a landmark inquiry to determine better ways to protect the sexual assault 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