Sisters of Mercy Australia

The Religious Sisters of Mercy, or Sisters of Mercy, is a religious order in Australia whose main focus has been the religious education of young people usually within disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. The Order’s activities has concentrated on operating institutions such as schools and orphanages, and in providing welfare and health services.

In Australia, the Sisters of Mercy is not centralised congregation. They have operated as a large number of autonomous communities united by their adherence to the same discipline and beliefs. As of mid-2017 there were four congregations: Brisbane, North Sydney, Parramatta, and the Institute of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Each congregation is autonomous in governance and comprises a number of communities. Each Sisters of Mercy congregation is headed by congregational superior, who is advised by a congregational council of four councillors.

Like many other religious orders in Australia, the Sisters of Mercy have been involved in allegations and complaints dealing with historical child sexual and physical abuse. One of the first serious looks at these abuses occurred in 2001 where the Australian Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs in Report 51 (“Lost Innocents Report”) looked into child migration to Australia under approved schemes during the 20th century. In the relation to child migrants sponsored by the Australian Catholic Church, over half of the children were sent to homes run by the Christian Brothers (52 per cent), 20 per cent to Sisters of Mercy, while the remainder were sent to homes/orphanages run by other orders such as the Marist Brothers and the Salesians of Don Bosco. It was revealed, however, that many children who were placed in homes/orphanages run by the Sisters of Mercy suffered terrible physical and sexual abuse. Those homes/orphanages included St Joseph's Orphanage in Subiaco, Perth; St John’s Orphanage in Goulburn, NSW; St Aidan’s in Bendigo, and St Joseph’s Orphanage, Neerkol in QLD.

St Joseph’s Orphanage in Neerkol was latter heavily scrutinised in the QLD Forde Inquiry in 1999, and during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Case Study No. 26 (2016)  which heard from former victims about the terrible physical and sexual abuse they received at the hands of nuns, priests and former employees of the orphanage between 1940 and 1975. The Royal Commission concluded that St Joseph’s was a hell house for hundreds of wards/children living there during that period. There was systematic abuse evident by the fact that Father Durham on February 6, 1997 was charged with 40 sexual offences against five former residents, and Mr Baker, who was an employee of the orphanage as well as being a former resident, was committed for trial in 1998 on 69 mainly sexual offences, related to 12 former residents.

Moody Law has represented and is still representing victims of child sexual abuse by the Sisters of Mercy.

We invite former victims to tell us confidentially what information they may have, and we will explain what options are available to help with these cases.

Call us or complete the confidential enquiry form below.