The Parliament of Victoria in Australia has opened an inquiry into high control groups, which could have major repercussions for the Church of Scientology’s UK operations, but has failed to include survivors based abroad.
According to the inquiry’s website, the Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee is “looking into cults and fringe groups in Victoria—how they recruit and control people—and will report back by 30 September 2026. This inquiry is not about judging anyone’s beliefs—it’s about protecting people from harm.” It continues “We want to understand whether current laws are strong enough to deal with groups that use manipulation or control in ways that can seriously hurt people.”
The inquiry ran a questionnaire and received over 300 responses from survivors of a variety of cults operating throughout Australia. 80% of submissions were from people sharing their own experiences and 15% were from close family members. The questionnaire revealed 38.2% of respondents were recruited into the group through a friend or family member and 22.1% were born or raised in.
94.9% of respondents reported psychological harm, 85.8% identified personal restrictions and 52.4% said they had been physically harmed while in their respective groups. The majority of those who took part in the survey reported indoctrination, fear of punishment if leaving, isolation from family and friends and emotional abuse as tactics used. Over half reported surveillance or monitoring and 71.9% said they had felt loss of personal freedoms.
Detailed submissions have been subsequently published by the inquiry, four of which are from ex-Scientologists. One statement says “We were taught to deny the self. We were taught that we didn’t have choices. And we did not understand that we had rights. We were primed for exploitation.”
“While being raised in Scientology, I was told that I was property of the organisation. I lived in overcrowded facilities and rarely experienced privacy. I had very little personal belongings. I was forced into child labour. I was denied an education beyond basic literacy. I signed a billion year contract at twelve years old. I was frequently stripped of anything that made me individual. I experienced severe psychological harms through Scientology interrogation and conditioning practices.”
Although the inquiry is looking at cults based in Australia, this may spell problems for Scientology here in the United Kingdom. Since 1977, Scientology has funnelled its UK operations through an Australian-registered entity called Church of Scientology Religious Education College, Inc. (COSRECI). The organisation was granted tax exemption by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission despite being listed as an overseas entity that does business exclusively in the United Kingdom. Contrastingly, Scientology was rejected by the UK Charity Commission in 1999 after it found the church “does not benefit the public.”
The corporate veil shields Scientology from scrutiny and government oversight, with UK authorities deferring responsibility to Australia and vice versa. However, all Scientology workers in the UK are employed by the ACNC-registered COSRECI, and as such Australia has a duty to investigate and take action against those abused by the church in the United Kingdom.
The inquiry so far has not made any attempts to engage survivors of abuse at the hands of the Australian-registered UK Church of Scientology. We emailed the Committee asking whether our voices could be included and received the following response:
“I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence and advise that it will be provided to the Committee for its consideration.”
When reporting concerns about the Church of Scientology’s fraudulent and abusive practices in the UK, the ACNC did not follow up or ask for evidence, telling us in 2023 “due to secrecy provisions in the ACNC legislation, we are unable to advise you of the action we take in response to your concern.”
Survivors wishing for their stories to be considered by the inquiry can submit statements via email to COFG@parliament.vic.gov.au
