Review Found Church Scheme Is Independent

By Megan Neil
The Australian
February 24, 2017

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/review-found-church-scheme-is-independent/news-story/cc64f05a40e1a1b463f1f8829d138b94

The much-criticised Melbourne Response is independent of the Catholic Church and has given most child sex abuse victims better compensation than they would have otherwise received, a review found.

The retired Federal Court judge whose review led to the Melbourne archdiocese doubling its maximum compensation payments to $150,000 backed the independence of the abuse complaints scheme at the same time as a royal commission criticised its lack of independence.

Donnell Ryan QC criticised the apologies offered under the Melbourne Response but found most victims had received better outcomes than would otherwise have been possible.

"It is reasonable to conclude that most have regarded the package of monetary settlement and the funding of counselling and clinical care as better than any other remedy which they could reasonably have achieved in the absence of the Melbourne Response," the report said.