The government agency in charge of payouts for victims of institutional abuse has been criticised for paying more in legal fees than compensation.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson said the figures raised serious concerns about the extent of abuse suffered by children and young people while in the care of the ACT government.
It comes after the Minister for Children, Youth and Families Michael Pettersson answered his questions about personal injury or institutional abuse claims from detainees at the Quamby Youth Detention Centre (demolished after operating between 1962 and 2008) and Bimberi Youth Justice Centre (in operation since 2008).
Official figures for the past five financial years showed the Territory's insurer, the ACT Insurance Authority (ACTIA), paid more than $693,000 in plaintiff damages and legal costs for claims from detainees and others linked to these locations for alleged abuse occurring after July 1 1998.
However, ACTIA's spending on its own legal costs dramatically eclipsed those payouts.
The insurer alone spent more than $1.5 million on legal fees, counsel fees and disbursements over the same period, including more than $731,000 in 2025-2026 alone.
Figures also showed, between 2021 and 2024, the ACT Government Solicitor spent $616,667 on plaintiff damages and legal costs for institutional abuse settlements, including $55,000 on its own legal expenses.
The stark contrast between legal spending and victim compensation drew condemnation from the Independent MLA.
"Victims of institutional abuse absolutely deserve compensation. It's shocking that the Territory's spending more on its own legal costs related to claims from people who've suffered abuse on the government's watch than on the compensation it's actually paid out to those people," Mr Emerson said.
Mr Emerson called for immediate government accountability, adding: "Our community deserves an explanation of what exactly has happened here, and what steps the ACT Government is taking to prevent further children and young people from abuse in our youth justice system."
In response, the minister said compensation figures relating to institutional child sexual abuse included historical child sexual abuse, and these were necessary legal costs associated with responding to such claims.
Mr Petterson said the ACT government ammended the law in 2016 to remove limitation periods for civil actions on child sexual abuse in an institutional context, and in 2017, expanded those laws to apply to all compensation claims related to abuse.
"The government acknowledges that there is more work to do to eliminate the risk of child sexual abuse and exploitation in our community. Efforts to respond to historical child sexual abuse claims do not undermine this focus," the minister said.
Mr Pettersson said the government had increased yearly budget investments to support people who are of child protection and youth justice systems, including through raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility, diverting young people into therapeutic response pathways and the Next Steps for our Kids strategy.
Mr Emerson previously warned taxpayers were funding a high "cost of incompetence" across multiple directorates.
The ACT paid $51.9 million in medical negligence settlements in 2025-26, along with $8.9 million in legal costs, information provided to the Assembly's budget estimates committee revealed.
The value of the damages and settlements had risen more than 72 per cent from the previous financial year, the answer to one of Mr Emerson's questions on notice showed.
