Abuse victims ‘borrowing against expected compensation’

Victoria is yet to commit to the national redress scheme for institutional child sex abuse victims.

Victorian Attorney-General Martin Pakula. Picture: Alison Wynd

Victoria is yet to commit to the national redress scheme for institutional child sex abuse victims and has held open the option of creating its own independent compensation scheme.

Writing to the Senate committee inquiry examining the proposed redress scheme, Attorney-General Martin Pakula said while the state supported a national scheme, some issues had to be resolved before it could take part.

“The Victorian government wants to make sure that the ­national redress scheme will provide a sufficient and appropriate response to Victorian survivors,’’ Mr Pakula wrote.

He told The Australian the government was still in discussion with the commonwealth and other states about issues such as provision of counselling and the treatment of non-sexual abuse.

“The preparedness of major (non-government organisations) to participate remains a vital component to the success of any nat­ional scheme,” he said. “We need to ensure that it appropriately acknowledges and responds to the harm suffered by survivors.”

Mr Pakula said the state expected to decide soon.

The Senate committee has received several submissions raising concerns about a proposed nat­ional redress scheme, including a submission from a West Australian organisation that reported abuse survivors were borrowing money in the belief they soon would receive redress payments.

Tuart Place, which provides services for adults who received out-of-home care as children, claimed it had received reports of survivors taking out extra credit cards and borrowing money in the belief they would soon receive a redress payment.

The deputy chairwoman of the Senate committee, Rachel Siewert, said the reports highlighted the need for parliament to resolve the legislation as soon as possible.

The Greens senator said she hoped Canberra and the states would continue discussions to roll out the scheme as soon as practicable, and she expected the committee to call relevant department officials to give evidence.

A submission by survivors who were abused in the Defence Force seeks their redress payments to be at the higher end of the scale.

Advocacy group Victims of Abuse in the Australian Defence Force Association says abuse by government officials acting in an official capacity fell within the meaning of the International Convention Against Torture. The group said the breach of the convention, which Australia had ratified, “makes the abuse in the Australian Defence Force more heinous than other institutions”.

Association secretary Jennifer Jacomb said ADF victims did not seek to diminish abuse in other institutions, but the government had agreed to the convention and “government officials did it anyway”.

She said she believed there was support across parliament for a redress scheme, with just fine details to be worked out. “I don’t believe (the government) will face an uphill battle because everyone in the parliament is compassionate in this matter,” she said.

“The question is not that we have to do something, just the how.”

Further submissions called for expansions of the proposed scheme, with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service urging other types of abuse, including cultural abuse, be included and advocating for all survivors to be paid equally the maximum amount.