National Redress Scheme for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse
The National Redress Scheme provides support to people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse.
The establishment of a National Redress Scheme was recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The Scheme:
- acknowledges that many children were sexually abused in Australian institutions
- recognises the harm caused by this abuse
- holds institutions accountable for this abuse
- helps people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse gain access to counselling and psychological services, a direct personal response, and a monetary payment.
The Scheme started on 1 July 2018, and will run for 10 years.
If you are interested in applying for the Scheme more information is available on the National Redress Scheme website.
The Australian Government wants as many people as possible to have access to the Scheme. Institutions must agree to join the Scheme so that they can provide redress to people who experienced child sexual abuse while in the care of their institution.
Many institutions have already agreed to join the Scheme. This includes the Commonwealth, and all state and territory governments and many of the major churches and charities, including the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Uniting Church, the Salvation Army, the YMCA and Scouts Australia.
Institutions must agree to join the National Redress Scheme so that they can provide redress to people who experienced child sexual abuse in relation to their institution.
Where the Scheme receives an application naming a previously unnamed non-participating institution after the 30 June 2020 deadline, the Scheme will contact the institution and the institution will be given six months to join. Should that institution fail to join the Scheme within the six months, then the institution will be publicly identified by the Scheme in accordance with Scheme legislation and jurisdictions may apply other appropriate sanctions.
When an institution has completed all the necessary steps to join the scheme, they are declared to be participating by the Minister, and then the list of participating institutions is updated on the National Redress Scheme website on the search for a participating institution page on the website.
People who are interested in the Scheme can be alerted to new information by subscribing via the Scheme’s website to receive updates.
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