An Aboriginal woman's bid to seek damages over alleged abuse while in forced state care is back on track after a High Court ruling.
Joanne Willmot, 70, had tried to sue the Queensland government for almost $1.76 million in damages, claiming she suffered a psychiatric injury as a "state child" decades ago.
She alleged the state had failed to protect her when she was in their care, claiming she had been abused or assaulted in the 1950s and 1960s while living in a foster home, at a girls' dormitory and while visiting her grandmother.
Ms Willmot was placed into state care until she was 18 under the laws at the time that deemed the director of the state children's department had the "care, management and control" of all Aboriginal children.
At age three, she was released into foster care with now-deceased Jack and Tottie Demlin between 1957 and 1959 where she was allegedly sexually abused on a weekly to fortnightly basis by her foster father and regularly beaten by the Indigenous couple.
Another girl in foster care with the Demlins - known as RS - provided a statement supporting the claims, alleging she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by the foster father and saw Ms Willmot also being abused.
Ms Willmot was released back into a Cherbourg girls' dormitory near Murgon due to severe malnourishment and she claimed she suffered severe beatings and floggings for minor infractions there.
She alleged at the age of six she was given permission to visit her grandmother's house where she was allegedly sexually assaulted by an uncle, referred to under the pseudonym "NW".
When released again at 13 to visit her grandmother Ms Willmot claimed she was sexually assaulted by her cousin or great uncle known as "Uncle Pickering".
Ms Willmot launched legal action against Queensland in 2022.
The Brisbane Supreme Court in 2022 permanently stayed the woman's case due to the difficulty in establishing what had happened more than 60 years ago given that both her foster parents and other witnesses had subsequently died.
The Court of Appeal upheld the decision in 2023.
However on Wednesday, the High Court of Australia ruled Ms Willmot could pursue a trial for damages against the state on three of the allegations.
The judges ruled a fair trial could be had on the sexual abuse allegations against Mr Demlin, with Ms Willmot and RS able to be cross-examined and any inconsistencies to their evidence exposed.
"Her claim of sexual abuse in respect of Mr Demlin comprises acts and episodes of inestimable horror," the judgment said.
"However sympathetic one might be to the plight of the appellant, if her claims are to result in an enforceable legal entitlement to damages against the State of Queensland, that can only relevantly be the outcome of a trial."
The state's attempt to prevent the physical abuse at the dormitory and sexual abuse claims against NW from going to trial were rejected.
The court rejected the state's claim that the physical abuse at the dormitory should not go to trial as key figures were dead and contemporaneous documents that showed earlier complaints of abuse could not be relied upon.
The judges said on the matter of NW it rejected the state's claims over the private context of the alleged assault, the death of Ms Willmot's grandmother and its ability to "meaningfully respond" being restricted.
However, the court ruled that no legal action should proceed on the allegations the Demlins regularly beat Ms Willmot or the sexual abuse claims against Uncle Pickering who is assumed to have died.
The state of Queensland was ordered to pay the costs of the application.
13YARN 13 92 76
Lifeline 13 11 14
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
