'Really unfair': Victim-survivor's almost two-year wait for her own records
After a 23-month wait to receive her own records from the Tasmanian government, Sam Morgan's civil legal case against the state can finally progress. But her lawyer says many people are losing access to justice because of long waits for records.
Victim-survivor Sam Morgan faces a two-year wait for her own records after alleging sexual and physical abuse while in foster care and at a government high school in Tasmania. Her civil court claim has been delayed while the education department releases her records. The department is committed to reducing the wait time and implementing changes, but Morgan alleges the anxiety from the long wait is horrific.
She was sexually abused by a foster carer at age 12-13 and physically abused at a Tasmanian government school. Morgan's lawyer, Azita Arian, says she is not the only victim-survivor facing long waits for records. The National Redress Scheme offers quicker compensation but has a $150,000 cap, and accepting it would bar Morgan from pursuing a civil claim.
Ombudsman Tasmania has noted concerns about the backlog of RTI applications to the education department, which the department is actively monitoring.
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