Paul Leveyas a child lived for a period in the presbytery at Mortlake with notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale. The Catholic church, which failed to intervene in this abuse has made an out-of-court settlement with the victim.

Paul Levey, 52, had been set to appear in court in September, but has recently agreed to an amount of money the church offered. It's the end of a four-year-battle for compensation for Mr Levey, who was subjected to daily abuse by Gerald Ridsdale at the presbytery when he was a teenager.

He said it had been an arduous journey and his mental health suffered greatly as a result of having to recount details of the abuse. He has now vowed to help other people seeking compensation by giving them an insight into the process.

"I'm very relieved," Mr Levey said. "I want to put together an information sheet on what people can expect and how long things can take," Mr Levey said.

He said there were a number of factors that led him to decide to settle out of court.

"I would have loved to go to court but there were too many variables."

He said he was relieved the process was finally over for him .But he believes the Australian justice system has a long way to go with regard to compensation for sexual abuse victims.

"This would be a $40 million case in America," he said.

Mr Levey said no amount of money could ease his pain, but he feels like he has had a small win.