National Redress Scheme (Australia)

Established by the Commonwealth Government, the National Redress Scheme is a direct result of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. It will provide a nationally consistent means of response to abuse that occurred within churches and other institutions.

The National Redress Scheme will provide an independent and non-adversarial way to acknowledge people who have experienced child sexual abuse in institutional settings. Each eligible survivor of abuse in an LCA setting will be able to access: psychological care and counselling; a direct personal response from the LCA; $1000 to cover legal costs; and monetary payment of up to $150,000.

It is intended as a simple and streamlined alternative to the courts, which can be difficult, expensive, time-consuming and re-traumatising for survivors.

The LCA believes that children are to be cared for and protected from all physical, psychological, sexual and spiritual abuse while engaging in all church activities. In joining the National Redress Scheme, the LCA is acknowledging children have experienced sexual abuse in our church and is making a commitment to recognise and alleviate the impact of the abuse they have suffered. The LCA considers that a major advantage of the scheme is it provides a credible and objective assessment framework.

The Department of Social Services will appoint independent decision-makers to assess and make determinations on applications to the scheme.

When there is an application, the scheme will request relevant records from the LCA. The scheme will be evidence-based and need substantiation. Payments will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and awarded to eligible people according to the severity and impact of the abuse experienced.

The maximum payment is $150,000.

No, only the survivor can appeal decisions.

If a survivor goes to the courts first and receives damages, he or she cannot apply to the scheme. However, if the court rules against him or her, the survivor is still able to apply to the scheme due to the lower evidential threshold.

If a survivor has previously reached an out-of-court settlement with the LCA, they can still apply to the Redress Scheme. If the scheme determines the settlement amount was inadequate, the LCA will be required to pay the difference between the amount determined by the scheme and what was paid originally.

A special ‘redress scheme’ premium has been added and is included in the annual LCA Insurance premium sent to all entities who hold LCA Insurance. This amount of the special premium will be reviewed annually, based on claims experience and capacity to pay (ie taking account of movement in general insurance premiums).

The scheme will run for 10 years, starting 1 July 2018.

Yes. In order to join the scheme, the LCA will be required to sign a memorandum of understanding. This is not a legally enforceable undertaking and it is possible to opt out of the scheme at any stage, with no penalty.