Many lawyers and advocates worry the practice is too easy to exploit and could make it harder for genuine abuse survivors to get justice
The first time many people heard the term “claim farming” was last week when New South Wales police announced that seven arrests had been made and an allegedly fraudulent claims farming syndicate had been uncovered.
Police alleged that “claims farmers” at the heart of the scheme coached former young offenders, inmates and public school students on how to file false compensation claims for child sexual abuse while in care, then sold those referrals on to law firms in Sydney.
Claim farming, a practice that these arrests have shone a light on, is legal in most states including NSW, where intermediaries are allowed to sell on the details of victims to law firms, who then make claims on their behalf. Last week’s arrests were not due to claim farming per se but allegations that the claims being farmed were fraudulent.
Police will allege in court that in relation to the matters they had charged so far, the seven accused stood to make $3.75m. But Det Supt Gordon Arbinja said police would allege in court that at the time of arrest the group held 100 more applications and the intervention of police last week prevented a further $30m in compensation being paid out.
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