Editing Statute of limitations (section)

===Australia===
In Australia, there are no statutes of limitation in criminal proceedings if the maximum penalty that can be imposed for an offence committed by an individual includes imprisonment for more than 6 months. For civil matters, the statutes of limitation are prescribed by each state or territory jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite web |title=The statute of limitation |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/committees/senate/community_affairs/completed_inquiries/1999-02/child_migrat/report/e06 |website=Parliament of Australia |access-date=11 March 2021}}</ref>

===={{anchor|Crimes against children and people under guardianship in Victoria, Australia}}Victoria====
The Limitations Act of 1958 allows 12 years for victims of child abuse to make a claim, with age 37 the latest at which a claim can be made. The police submitted evidence<ref>{{cite web|title=Parliamentary Inquiry On The Handling Of Child Abuse By Religious And Other Non-Government Organisations|url=https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/acts/limitation-actions-act-1958/107|access-date=31 July 2014|publisher=[[Parliament of Victoria]]}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=November 2017}} to a commission, the Victorian Inquiry into Church and Institutional Child Abuse (in existence since 2012) indicating that it takes an average of 24 years for a victims of [[child sexual abuse]] to go to the police.<ref>{{cite web|title=Parliament of Victoria|url=https://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/research/ageofinquiry/biogs/E000048b.htm|access-date=9 May 2013|work=Inquiry Into The Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organizations}}</ref> According to Attorney General Robert Clark, the government will remove statutes of limitations on criminal child abuse; victims of violent crime should be given additional time, as adults, to deal with the legal system.<ref>{{cite web|title=Victoria ends statutory time limit on historical child sex abuse cases|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/victoria-ends-statutory-time-limit-on-historical-child-sex-abuse-cases/story-e6frgczx-1226910540134|website=www.theaustralian.com.au|publisher=Australian Associated Press|access-date=12 October 2014}}</ref> Offenders of minors and the disabled have used the statute of limitations to avoid detection and prosecution, moving from state to state and country to country; an example which was presented to the Victorian Inquiry was the [[Congregation of Christian Brothers|Christian Brothers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Waller_Legal.pdf |title=Inquiry Into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations |publisher=[[Parliament of Victoria]] |access-date=31 July 2014 }}</ref>

An argument for abolishing statutes of limitations for civil claims by minors and people under guardianship is ensuring that abuse of vulnerable people would be acknowledged by lawyers, police, organizations and governments, with enforceable penalties for organisations which have turned a blind eye in the past. [[Support group]]s such as [[Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests|SNAP]] Australia,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/SNAP.pdf |title=Waller Legal response |publisher=[[Parliament of Victoria]] |access-date=31 July 2014 }}</ref> Care Leavers Australia Network<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Care_Leavers_Australia_Network_CLAN.pdf |title=A Submission by Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) to the Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations |publisher=[[Parliament of Victoria]] |access-date=31 July 2014 }}</ref> and Broken Rites have submitted evidence to the Victoria inquiry,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Broken_Rites.pdf |title=Broken Rites response |publisher=[[Parliament of Victoria]] |access-date=31 July 2014 }}</ref> and the [[Law Institute of Victoria]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/fcdc/inquiries/57th/Child_Abuse_Inquiry/Submissions/Law_Institute_of_Victoria.pdf |title=Inquiry Into the Processes by Which Religious and Other Non-government Organisations Respond to the Criminal Abuse of Children by Personnel Within Their Organisations |publisher=[[Parliament of Victoria]] |access-date=31 July 2014 }}</ref> has advocated changes to the statute of limitations.

===={{anchor|Crimes against children and people under guardianship in Victoria, Australia}}Western Australia====
The Criminal Procedure Act 2004 outlines the statute of limitations, stating that a simple offense (an offence which can only be brought to a magistrate's court, and cannot include more than 12 months' imprisonment as the maximum penalty) shall have a statute of limitations of 12 months. However, all crimes (offences which can be brought to a district court or the supreme court) have no statute of limitations. Furthermore, a person may be charged with a simple offence after 12 months' if the person consents to such a charge being laid, or if that offence has a different statute of limitations as provided by law.<ref>[https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/filestore.nsf/FileURL/mrdoc_45590.pdf/$FILE/Criminal%20Procedure%20Act%202004%20-%20%5B03-m0-01%5D.pdf?OpenElement Criminal Procedure Act 2004] Retrieved 11 March 2023</ref>