BYM v The Corporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane trading as Brisbane Catholic Education
[2026] QCA 6 · Bond JA, Brown JA, Crow J
The plaintiff, identified only as BYM to protect her identity, claimed that when she was 8 or 9 years old in 1999 she was sexually assaulted by a groundskeeper at a Catholic school. She started court proceedings in 2021, more than 20 years after the alleged event, seeking damages for personal injury. At trial the judge was not persuaded the assault had happened, finding the plaintiff's evidence unreliable and the groundskeeper's denial credible. The judge also concluded that, even if the assault had occurred, the school would not have been legally responsible because the groundskeeper was not acting within his employment and the school had not breached its duty of care. BYM appealed to the Court of Appeal, arguing the trial judge made errors in assessing the evidence and the law. The Court of Appeal rejected all of her arguments and dismissed the appeal with costs. The plaintiff recovered nothing.
Incident & injury
Alleged sexual assault of plaintiff (then 8-9 years old) by a groundskeeper employed by the school when she left class to use the toilets in 1999
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
- Incident date
- 1999
- Location
- Catholic school, Brisbane (school name suppressed)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 23 January 2026
- Claim type
- Historical Abuse
- Proceeding
- Appeal
- Plaintiff outcome
- Unsuccessful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- 9
- Occupation
- Primary school student (at time of alleged injury) Student
- Liability
- Disputed
- Total damages
- $0
Outcome
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's appeal with costs. The primary judge had found the alleged childhood sexual assault by a school groundskeeper did not occur, and that even if it had, the respondent would not have been vicariously liable nor in breach of its non-delegable duty. All three appeal grounds failed.
Key issues
Appeal
This decision was the subject of a subsequent appeal: [2024] QSC 106
BYM v The Corporation of the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane trading as Brisbane Catholic Education [2026] QCA 6
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Learn more about institutional abuse claims and psychological injury claims in Queensland.