“Running out of time”: Cross-party report urges government to ensure the future of redress for child sexual abuse survivors

knowmore welcomes the unanimous report of the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the National Redress Scheme, recognising that the Australian Government must act to ensure that survivors of institutional child sexual abuse do not miss out on redress.

“We know that, for many survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, the redress that they receive from the scheme is life-changing,” said Jackie Mead, CEO of knowmore.

“We have long held concerns that the National Redress Scheme is not on-track to deliver redress to all eligible survivors before the end of the scheme and that the scheme is approaching a dangerous crunch point with the deadline for applications in June 2027.”

“Planning to ensure the future of redress needs to begin immediately and take place in partnership with survivors and survivor support services. There is a lot of work to be done.”

The report notes that “extending the Scheme would need a political agreement among the federal, state and territory governments.”

knowmore also welcomes the report’s focus on addressing “inconsistent and unfair redress outcomes”. The report comments:

Unless doubts about consistency and fairness can be transparently resolved, confidence in the Scheme (and the Royal Commission’s vision) is likely to be eroded. This issue should be a high priority for the Scheme.

Ms Mead said that the lack of transparency from the National Redress Scheme was one of the most significant issues impacting on knowmore’s clients.

“The National Redress Scheme often does not provide adequate information about how it makes decisions, impacting on our ability to support clients as they consider their redress and compensation options.”

The Joint Standing Committee’s report makes 29 recommendations to improve how the National Redress Scheme works.

knowmore continues to advocate for improvements to the National Redress Scheme.

knowmore is a community legal centre that provides free, independent legal advice and multidisciplinary support for survivors of child sexual abuse.

For more information or to arrange media interviews with a local representative, contact media officer Barbara Charan on 0418 232 906 or email via media@knowmore.org.au