NSW government grants $2 million compensation to Kathleen Folbigg, sparking calls for inquiry
The New South Wales government has approved a $2 million compensation payment to Kathleen Folbigg, more than two years after she was released from prison following the quashing of her convictions for killing her four children. The decision, confirmed by Attorney-General Michael Daley, follows a formal application submitted by Folbigg in 2024 after spending 20 years behind bars.
Folbigg was convicted in 2003 of the murders of Patrick, Sarah, and Laura, and the manslaughter of her firstborn, Caleb, in a case that gripped the nation. The verdict was overturned in 2023 after new scientific evidence raised serious doubts about her guilt, leading to her full exoneration, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Despite the payment, Folbigg's legal team says the figure falls drastically short of reflecting the trauma she endured. Her solicitor, Rhanee Rego, called the compensation "profoundly unfair and unjust," highlighting the comparison to Lindy Chamberlain, who received $1.7 million in 1994 for just three years of wrongful imprisonment.
“Kathleen Folbigg spent two decades in prison, yet for her wrongful imprisonment she has been offered only $2 million,” Rego said. “This does not reflect the extent of the pain and suffering Kathleen has endured. The system has failed her again.”
Rego added that an inquiry is now necessary to understand how the government determined the compensation amount, especially given the sensitivity and gravity of the case.
While the NSW government has declined to publicly discuss the details of the decision, citing a request from Folbigg herself, the payout continues to raise questions about justice, accountability, and the support extended to those wrongly imprisoned in Australia.
“This should be about the system recognising the significance of what it did to her,” Rego said. “Kathleen Folbigg’s fight should be over.”
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