• Catholic Clergy Claims
    Catholic Clergy Claims
    Dr Vivian Waller has acted in claims against Catholic Clergy since 1995.
  • State Ward Claims
    State Ward Claims
    Dr Viv Waller has acted for former wards of the state of Victoria since 1997 when she commenced group litigation on behalf of many former residents of the Ballarat Orphanage who were abused in care.
  • The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
    The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
    Established in January 2013, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse investigated how institutions like schools, churches and sporting groups responded to allegations of child sexual abuse.

Team

Dr Waller was instrumental in the Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse where she represented 20 survivor witnesses in case studies inquiring into the Melbourne Response, Victorian State Wards, Yeshiva Bondi and Melbourne, Catholic Church Authorities in Ballarat and the Criminal Justice System.

Dr Vivian Waller 

Dr Vivian Waller was admitted to legal practice in 1995. She is the Director and Managing Partner of law firm Waller Legal.

She has 25 years experience representing survivors of institutional child sexual abuse including litigation in the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia.

Dr Waller was instrumental in the Royal Commission into the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse where she represented 20 survivor witnesses in case studies inquiring into the Melbourne Response, Victorian State Wards, Yeshiva Bondi and Melbourne, Catholic Church Authorities in Ballarat and the Criminal Justice System.

She has written submissions for the Royal Commission and appeared before the Senate Committee in relation to the establishment of the National Redress Scheme.

Dr Waller represented, on a pro bono basis, the complainant in the criminal prosecution and appeals process in relation to allegations against Cardinal George Pell.

She holds a Doctorate in Law from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Monash University. Dr Waller was appointed to the Victorian Law Reform Commission in November 2020.

 

  • Viv Waller Lawyer
  • Dr Vivian Waller outside the Supreme Court of Victoria
  • Viv Waller outside County Court
  • Dr Vivian Waller entering the Supreme Court
In pursuit of justice
In The News
Testimonials
  • Again we cannot thank you enough for all your dedication and hard work over the past few years, we would not have made it without your persistence and dogged determination to get this to settlement stage, many others would have settled for less. We now have a girl who has beaten the odds, and whose self esteem has rocketed, is confident, and especially is calm!

    We wish you all good things in life, as without lawyers like yourself who will take the risk of taking on the "untouchables" we would not have kept our girl on track or most importantly, alive. The road for her is still to be traveled, but this will assist in making the journey less troubled, and we hope with time and continued therapy she will see herself as a complete person and not as a shadow of who she could be.

    You will be forever in our thoughts.

    TJ
  • As a mother, I write to express my gratitude to you and your team for the support of my daughter following her sexual assault three years ago.  Although the bloke who assaulted her was not charged the dollars being awarded to her following your intervention certainly acknowledges the wrong that was done – and will I hope, help her to move on.  Thank you for the work you do.  With much gratitude and appreciation.

    PS
  • Six years after the settlement:

    It has been a long and well-travelled road for our girl, but I never thought I would see the day when she is as happy as she is now.  I was so happy when she decided to study nursing!  The settlement that she received enabled her to study full time over the past three years without having to worry about working while studying.

    What happened to our daughter, and to us as a family, will never go away, however, our daughter has managed to pick up the fragments of her life and move on. The horrors of what have happened will not disappear, perhaps just fade as more joyful occasions occur in her life.

    I want all of you to know what a tower of strength and support you were to all of us and that without you, our daughter’s life would have turned out very differently.

    You are always in our thoughts with gratitude for what you achieved.

    TJ
  • Thank you Vivian, I really appreciate all your help, you have given me a second chance in life.

    RF
  • You are a wonderful warrior for truth and justice.

    Mary
  • Thank you so much for all of your hard work this year getting my VOCAT application together, and for the fantastic outcome. While I am still dealing with the emotional ramifications of what happened to me, I now feel like I have the means to continue rebuilding myself and my life. Thank you.

    CC
  • Dear Vivian,

    I wish to thank you for everything you have done to enable me to feel some justice has been achieved with the hope that the Catholic Church recognises it’s failings and addresses them.  In doing so, the Catholic Church can continue in the future, without public cynicism and to keep alive the central message of all religion, “to love thy neighbour as you would love yourself”.

    Essentially, this is asking us to step into another’s shoes before we judge them.  I feel that you did this for me during my conversations with me, and this made it easier for me to go through the whole process.  I also won’t forget the thoroughness and delightful manner of your staff.

    JA
  • Yes indeed, thank you Vivian for your perseverance and dedication in doing whatever you can to bring about some justice in the absence of a full ecclesiastical council/court to judge publicly those who have violated not only the natural law, but the law of God in whose name these violations have taken place.

    Kathleen
  • Thank you so much from me personally.  This decision has actually turned my life back around.  I didn’t realise how much my heart was hurting from anger and disbelief in the system.

    My heart is lighter and more at peace thanks to you all.  As a family we are unable to find suitable words on how much your efforts, consideration and concern means to us.  At last someone fought and believed in us.  Truly you have given us all so much peace.

    WK
  • It has been a long journey trying to get the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to be held accountable for how they looked after me as a child many years ago.  Words cannot express how grateful I am to Viv Waller and her team who work tirelessly behind the scenes in getting justice.  For others who are considering seeking remuneration again an organisation that failed to look after your safety and well-being, I have no hesitation in recommending Waller Legal. 

    DR
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