Who can apply?

You can apply to the National Redress Scheme if:

• you experienced sexual abuse when you were a child (under 18 years of age), and
  • the abuse happened before 1 July 2018, and
  • an institution was responsible for bringing you into contact with the person who abused you, and
• you were born before 30 June 2010, and
• at the time you apply, you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident.

Your application may be processed differently if you:

• were abused in an institution that hasn’t joined the National Redress Scheme
• are under 18 years of age
• have ever been sentenced to more than 5 years in gaol
• have already received a payment related to the abuse

You cannot apply if you:

• are serving a sentence in gaol (you can apply once you are released or in exceptional circumstances)
• have already applied for redress through the National Redress Scheme

You cannot access redress if you:

• did not suffer sexual abuse
• have already received a court-ordered payment from the institution

If you want to apply, you can also think about:

• Circumstances that might affect how your application is processed
• Other options if you don't apply for redress
• Other questions that may help

Circumstances that might affect how your application is processed

Depending on your circumstances, your application may progress to assessment differently. These circumstances include if you:

• are currently under 18
• experienced institutional child sexual abuse after 1 July 2018
• have been sentenced to serve five years or more in gaol
• are serving a sentence in gaol
• already received a payment for the abuse as a result of a court case

Currently aged under 18 years

If you are under 18 years old, you can apply for redress if you are going to turn 18 before 30 June 2028. After you have applied, the National Redress Scheme will conduct a preliminary assessment of your application, which may help you decide whether you want to wait for redress or pursue other options. The National Redress Scheme team will contact you about what you may be able to access through the Scheme, but it is not a formal offer.

After you turn 18, the National Redress Scheme team will contact you again to ask if you want to go ahead with your application or withdraw it. If you choose to proceed, your application will then be assessed. Offers may differ from the preliminary assessment as individual circumstances may change.

You need to be aged 18 years or older to accept an offer of redress.

In the meantime, you can access Redress Support Services, including the legal support service knowmore, which can help you understand your legal options.

Experienced institutional child sexual abuse after 1 July 2018

Redress is about making amends for wrongs that happened in the past. The National Redress Scheme was established for people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse before 1 July 2018, when the Scheme started.

People who experienced child sexual abuse after the Scheme’s commencement on 1 July 2018 are not be able to access redress through the Scheme. Other legal options may be available, such as civil litigation.

Have been sentenced to imprisonment for five years or longer

If you have been convicted of a crime and received a single sentence of imprisonment of five years or more you can still apply for redress. However, you will need to go through a special assessment process before you can access redress.

If this is your circumstance, you will be asked to provide some additional information about your offences. The Scheme will then request advice about your entitlement to redress from:

• the Attorney-General in the state or territory where your abuse occurred
• the Attorney-General in the state or territory where your offence occurred (if it is different), and/or
• the Commonwealth Attorney-General (only if your offence was a federal criminal offence or occurred overseas.)

When making a decision about your entitlement to redress, the Scheme Operator considers advice received from the relevant Attorneys-General, and the Operator takes into account:

• the nature of your offence and the length of imprisonment it carried
• the period of time since you committed the offence and your rehabilitation since the offence, and
• any other relevant information.

Your application for redress will only progress if you are entitled to redress after the special assessment process.

More information on applying with Serious Criminal Convictions.

Currently serving a sentence in gaol

In most cases, people cannot apply to the Scheme while they are serving a sentence in gaol. If you are serving a sentence in gaol, you will be able to apply to the Scheme once you are released.

For the purposes of the National Redress Scheme, in gaol refers to being lawfully detained in a prison, a youth training centre, a community correction centre or remand.

There are some exceptional circumstances where an application may be accepted from someone who is serving a sentence in gaol. For example, your application from gaol may be accepted if you:

• will not be released from gaol until after the Scheme closes
• will be too ill to make an application after being released from gaol
• are experiencing other exceptional circumstances, which justify your application being accepted while you are in gaol.

More information for people serving a sentence in gaol.

Have received redress through another scheme

Previous payments can affect the redress payment you are offered, including payments from other redress schemes, victims of crime schemes or out-of-court settlements.

If the payments don't relate to the abuse in your application they won't be considered.

The value of any earlier payment will be deducted from the Redress payment, and earlier payments will be adjusted to today's value. The earlier payment will be adjusted using a flat rate of 1.9 per cent compounded for each whole year before the date of the redress offer, for example, a payment of $40,000 made on 10 years ago would be $48,283.84.

If you signed an agreement not to speak about your abuse or ask for any more money you can still apply. An institution cannot legally stop you from applying for or receiving redress through the National Redress Scheme. To get free legal advice call knowmore on 1800 605 762.

Have received a payment from the institution you will be applying about, as a result of a court case

If you have already been to court about the abuse that occurred, and the court made a ruling on your case, including awarding damages for the abuse, you cannot apply to the National Redress Scheme for redress from the institution that has already paid you compensation.

You can still make an application about other institutions or abuse if no court ruling has been made.

If you have received an out-of-court settlement or other redress scheme payments, you can still apply.

Other options if you don't apply for redress

You might also be able to apply for a victims of crime compensation payment. To get free legal advice and more information call knowmore on 1800 605 762.

You can report the abuse to the police, and you can still report abuse to police if you apply for the National Redress Scheme.

Other questions that may help

What happens if someone dies after they apply?

If someone dies after making a complete application, and they are made an offer of redress, their estate can receive their redress payment.

Beneficiaries or an executor can contact the National Redress Scheme team to arrange this.

The counselling and direct personal response components of redress will not be passed on, or be made available to others.

Can I apply for someone who has died?

No, you can't apply on behalf of a person who has died.

What if an institution where I was abused no longer exists?

The National Redress Scheme allows for people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse in relation to an institution that no longer exists to access redress in certain circumstances.

In cases where a government and a non-government institution were both responsible for the abuse, and that non-government institution no longer exists, the government can agree to pay the share of redress of that institution. An example might be where a state government placed a child in a “care” arrangement run by a non-government institution. If that non-government institution no longer exists, the state government could provide the full amount of redress to that person.

The government cannot choose to provide redress on behalf of an institution that no longer exists if it did not also have responsibility for the abuse.

Non-government institutions that are participating in the Scheme are able to provide redress for other non-government institutions that no longer exist, where there is, or used to be, a relationship between the two institutions. An example might be where a religious institution that exists today, may choose to provide redress for an institution that was once part of their religious order that no longer exists today.

The Scheme asks every government and non-government institution to think about these sorts of situations. When institutions join the Scheme they provide a list of their related institutions that no longer exist that will still be covered under the Scheme.

• The National Redress Scheme has a list of institutions that are participating in the Scheme. It includes some institutions that no longer exist, but it is not exhaustive.
• If an institution is not listed, the Scheme will investigate to see if there is another participating institutions who can take on responsibility.

Does it matter where I live now, or where the abuse took place?

Access to redress is based on where the abuse occurred and the institution responsible. Where you live now does not affect your ability to get access to the National Redress Scheme.

What if I was in foster care?

Every foster care situation is different. Institutions may be responsible for abuse that happened in foster care in certain situations. It will depend on whether the Scheme finds that an institution was responsible for the abuser having contact with the person. The Scheme considers each application on a case-by-case basis.

If a person was placed into foster care by an institution and the institution was the person’s legal guardian, then that institution could be considered responsible. An example of this is if a ward of the state was placed with foster carers by a state government department.

If a person was placed into foster care through informal arrangements, then an institution may not be considered responsible. An example of this is if a person was placed with the consent of the parent into a relative’s care.