Turnbull Government to Start Negotiations on National Child Abuse Redress Scheme

By Jane Lee
Sydney Morning Herald
January 29, 2016

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/turnbull-government-to-start-negotiations-on-national-child-abuse-redress-scheme-20160129-gmgqyh.html

The Turnbull government has agreed to lead a national redress scheme for child sexual abuse survivors but has not committed to contributing any shortfall funding for institutions that cannot pay compensation.

Attorney-General George Brandis and Social Services Minister Christian Porter said in a joint statement on Friday that they would develop a "nationally consistent approach" so that survivors of all institutions would "receive proper redress, irrespective of the location of the institution at the time of the offending or the present status of the offending institution".

"We will soon commence discussions with the states and territories to carefully work through the many complex issues to achieve an outcome for survivors as soon as possible," they said, without setting a deadline for negotiations.

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis (pictured) and Social Services Minister Christian Porter said the federal government will work to develop a "national consistent approach" to a compensation scheme. Photo: Daniel Munoz

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended in September that the federal government announce whether it would establish a $4.3 billion national redress scheme for 60,000 abuse survivors by the end of 2015. It said the scheme should be established no later than 1 July 2017.

The royal commission recommended a national redress scheme for 60,000 abuse survivors be established no later than July 1, 2017. Photo: Jeremy Piper

"The Commonwealth's general view – to be advised by the impending negotiations – is that, while substantial responsibility for the operation of the redress process will reside with the jurisdiction in which the offending institution was or is located, it is essential all governments commit to core principles and processes for the assessment and payment of redress."

The commission's preferred model involved the federal government establishing a national scheme, with churches, schools and government organisations largely paying survivors up to $200,000 in compensation for abuse that occurred there.

The government statement was silent on the commission's recommendation that federal, state and territory governments should pay for any shortfall - estimated to be about $613 million, or 15 per cent of the total cost of redress. The commission has left it open to both levels of government to negotiate how much they would contribute to this, for situations where the responsible institutions no longer exist and have no successor.

NSW and Victoria last year both agreed to become "funders of last resort" if a national redress scheme was established.

Survivors with a "reasonable likelihood" of having been abused should receive at least $10,000, and up to $200,000 in the most severe cases, the commission said. Those who were paid compensation would have to sign deeds of release preventing them from later suing institutions for their abuse.

The commission said that past and current redress processes had "not provided justice for many survivors". While abusers and institutions where abuse occurred were primarily responsible, this was also due to society's failure to protect children over a number of generations.

Survivor groups welcomed the move but called on the scheme to be established quickly.

Adults Surviving Child Abuse president, Dr Cathy Kezelman, urged all governments not to let redress "become a political football".

"It's important to remember that survivors are ageing. Many have waited decades for proper support and...are looking to government wondering how much longer they will have to wait."

Failing to identify and respond to abuse and trauma "costs the Australian public health system billions of dollars, funds we can ill afford in the current economic climate," she said.

Care Leavers Australia Network executive officer Leonie Sheedy was disappointed more details had not been finalised. She said state and territory governments needed to compensate former wards in their care for all forms of abuse expediently, with the group's oldest member now 100 years old.

"Care leavers...have terrible health and need financial assistance to repair their shattered lives."

The Catholic Church is expected to be the greatest contributor to compensation under a national redress scheme. Francis Sullivan, the chief executive officer of the church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council said relevant state and territory ministers needed to be directly responsible for their government's response to negotiations on redress rather than leaving the scheme to "bureaucrats and treasury officials".

"They, like representatives from so many other institutions including the Catholic Church, will have vested interests in keeping costs down and will be institutionally protective," he said.

The commission also recommended that survivors be able to claim Medicare for a wider range of counselling and psychological care services. The scheme should also include support services for survivors applying for compensation and a review process for offered payments, it said.