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No. The Collard family’s compensation claim against the State of Western Australia was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Western Australia in December 2013. A later costs dispute was separate: in 2015, the Court of Appeal ordered the family to pay costs, and the family said it planned to appeal that costs ruling. The eventual outcome of the proposed appeal is not established by the available reporting.
What the Collard family claimed
On 26 May 2010, Donald and Sylvia Collard and seven of their children lodged a writ in the Supreme Court of Western Australia seeking redress from the state. Contemporary reporting said the children had been removed from their parents without consent and placed in state care between March 1958 and December 1961. The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (ALSWA) described the case as a test case.
The claim concerned the effects of family separation and the state’s care of the children. Reports described allegations of abuse and harm made by the family; those were allegations in the claim, not findings that the court made. PerthNow’s 2010 report and ALSWA’s statement on the decision provide contemporaneous accounts of the case.
Why the compensation claim was dismissed
On 20 December 2013, Justice Janine Pritchard dismissed the claim. ABC News reported that the court concluded the state was not subject to the fiduciary duties the plaintiffs alleged. It also reported that the plaintiffs had no right of action because they had not complied with requirements under the Crown Suits Act.
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That legal result should not be confused with a finding that the family’s experiences did not occur. In reporting the judgment, ABC quoted Justice Pritchard acknowledging the emotional pain and heartache the family experienced, while explaining that the applicable legal principles and evidence did not establish the alleged fiduciary duties. ABC News’ report on the dismissal describes the court’s reasoning.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened in the later costs dispute
The claim’s dismissal and the later costs ruling were different decisions. According to ABC News, the trial judge initially made no order for costs, citing the case’s test-case character. In May 2015, the Court of Appeal ruled that the family had to pay costs. ABC reported in June 2015 that the family planned to appeal the costs decision to the High Court. The reporting available here does not establish how that proposed appeal was resolved.
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- Robert Hughes, The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding, paperback
The costs ruling did not award compensation to the family; it concerned who would bear the costs of the litigation after the claim had been dismissed. ABC’s May 2015 costs report and June 2015 report on the planned appeal cover those later developments.
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What the case does—and does not—establish
- The case involved nine named family members and the State of Western Australia; it was not a national compensation program.
- Although ALSWA and contemporary coverage described it as a test case, that description does not mean the court created a general right to compensation for Stolen Generations survivors.
- The judgment addressed the legal claims and procedural requirements before the court. The reported outcome does not decide eligibility for any separate redress program.
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