Survivor representative included in governance of redress scheme for child sexual abuse victims

A victim-survivor representative will be enshrined in the governance of the national redress scheme for institutional child sexual abuse.

Minister for Families and Social Services of Australia Amanda Rishworth. Picture: Floss Adams

Victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse will have a greater say in how the national redress scheme operates with the appointment of a representative to be included in future governance decisions.

On the fourth anniversary of the national apology to victims of institutional child sexual abuse, State and federal ministers have agreed to appoint a survivor voice to work with the Ministers’ governance board to ensure the concerns of victims and survivors are better addressed in the running of the scheme.

Adding a survivor voice into the governance of the redress scheme was one of the key recommendations of its most recent review conducted in 2021.

That review proposed 38 recommendations for improvement of the scheme, including how the severity and impact of the abuse is assessed, and easing restrictions on eligibility.

The Albanese government has committed to responding to all the recommendations by early next year, but social services minister Amanda Rishworth said the decision to include a survivor voice in the scheme’s running was an important step forward.

“I’m pleased we are enshrining victim-survivor voices into the governance arrangements,” Ms Rishworth said. “This will ensure they are at the heart of government decision-making.”

The redress scheme was created as part of the response to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse, commenced by the Gillard government in 2013.

There are now more than 600 non-government organisations including churches, schools and community groups signed up to the scheme, which began operating in mid-2018 with the support of both the federal and state governments. Over 20,000 people have applied for redress, with more than 11,000 outcomes.

And more than $830m has so far been paid out to victims of institutional child sexual abuse, at an average of about $87,000 per victim.

“No apology can ever take away the trauma and pain, but all levels of government are committed to working towards repairing our communities and giving true and practical meaning to this apology,” Ms Rishworth said.

The changes to the running of the redress scheme come as the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, created last year as a key recommendation of the royal commission into institutional responses into child sexual abuse, released a new five-year draft strategy for public comment.

The draft strategy outlines the agenda of the centre not only to support the healing of existing victims and survivors, but to more broadly increase societal understanding of the issues surrounding child sexual abuse and building the case for improved public policy.

“I recommit to working with urgency and ambition on this journey to stopping child abuse before it starts,” Ms Rishworth said. “We need to work together to keep children safe, to trust them and most of all respect their innocence.”

The Centre has appointed experienced Dr Leanne Beagley, an experienced executive in the health and mental health space, as its new chief executive.