Military Abuse Claims – Army Apprentice Schools, Balcombe and Latchford Barracks

The Federal Government has conceded that there is a culture of abuse in our Defence Forces. There was little choice but for the Government to make this concession following a damning report by DLA Piper into military abuse.

The sexual, physical and emotional abuse suffered by adult victims is bad enough but in some areas, kids as young as 14 were drafted into the military and subjected to horrific bastardisation and abuse.

One such notorious base was the Army Apprentice School in Balcombe (and later Latchford Barracks)  in Victoria which was established as a school for army apprentices in 1948 and closed in 1982 when the school moved to Bonegilla. Balcombe accepted boys as young as 14 but senior apprentices would be up to the age of 18.  The horrific sexual and physical abuse and culture of bastardisation which is now known to have occurred at Balcombe was fuelled by a lack of supervision by duty officers as the camp was run on a system where the senior apprentices (who were still boys themselves) having de facto responsibility for “discipline” whilst at the same time supplying any apprentice aged 16 and over with unlimited alcohol which contributed to a “Lord of the Flies” environment which caused untold damage to many of the boys who were stationed there.

The report released by the Defence Abuse Task Force in November 2014 makes specific reference to Balcombe Barracks and Latchford Barracks where the apprentices were moved in 1982. (http://www.defenceabusetaskforce.gov.au/reports/documents/reportonabuseindefence.doc)

The report says at p 216, “It appears that there was public awareness of the existence of harassment and bullying within the Army Apprentice Scheme at the Army Apprentice School during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1969, the then Minister for Defence reported in Parliament that there had been isolated incidents of harassment and bullying at the Army Apprentice School since 1967, which resulted in the reduction in rank of one apprentice and the discharge of four other apprentices. Harassment and bullying at the Army Apprentice School also gained media attention during the 1970s following an incident of assault on a junior apprentice during which senior apprentices broke his nose. Four Army apprentices were found guilty of the assault and sentenced to seven days’ detention with a $40 fine. The Commanding Officer of the Army Apprentice School at the time denied that any hazing or initiation practices took place, and said: ‘I realise that there is this tendency towards bullying in all boarding schools and it would be surprising to me if there weren’t some latent aspects of bullying in this school.’

The Taskforce received complaints from 68 complainants which  were found to have raised plausible allegations of abuse at the Army Apprentice School, Balcombe Barracks and Latchford Barracks. Almost half of the complainants experienced sexual abuse and all but one of the complainants were male. Complainants experienced sexual abuse from staff members and/or senior apprentices.

The report states “A very high proportion of complainants experienced physical abuse at the Army Apprentice School (62 complainants) and that many complainants reported acts of physical abuse carried out by senior apprentices purely for their entertainment, while other complainants reported that senior apprentices would abuse their positions of seniority and retaliate with violence for perceived minor breaches of regulations, or if a junior apprentice showed any resistance.”

Angela Sdrinis Legal is acting for former army apprentices who experienced abuse. If you were a victim of abuse at Balcombe or Latchford you may be entitled to damages. If your abuse occurred before 1 December 1988, there is an unfettered right to sue for damages. Damages claims for historical  child abuse against the Commonwealth are now much more straightforward in Victoria because of the recent abolition of the statute of limitations.

Please contact our office for free, confidential advice. Where there are reasonable prospects of success, we act on a completely no win/no fee basis which means that you are not liable for any up-front costs or out of pocket expenses.