Register for the free National Redress Scheme webinar for disability community

People with disability may experience barriers in disclosing, speaking about and/or reporting abuse they experienced while in an institution.

Join National Redress Scheme representative Lucy Knight and People with Disability Australia Case Worker Linda Wiseham for a free webinar. Lucy and Linda will share information about the National Redress Scheme and the redress journey for people with disability, and their family members, carers or support workers.

This webinar will cover

• Purpose of the National Redress Scheme
• Application process
• Video interview with a redress applicant and their case manager
• How to engage with Redress Support Services and access free confidential support.

The webinar will be held online through Zoom on Wednesday 23 July at:

1:00pm – 2:00pm AEST (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Tasmania)

12:30pm – 1:30pm ACST (Adelaide, Darwin)

11:00am – 12:00pm AWST (Perth)

This event will have live captioning and Auslan interpretation. You can provide details of other access requirements when registering, including submitting a general question about the Scheme for the panel to answer during the webinar. Please note, the panel won’t be able to answer questions about specific applications or personal circumstances.

Registrations are now open on the People with Disability Australia’s website: PWDA National Redress Scheme Information Webinar(Opens in a new tab/window).

Redress payments exempt from residential aged care means testing, since 1 January 2025

Since Wednesday 1 January 2025, payments issued by the National Redress Scheme are to be excluded from residential aged care means testing.

This means that survivors and their partners who are in or about to enter residential aged care do not pay more towards their residential aged care because they have received a redress payment.

This exemption is available to survivors who access permanent care in a residential aged care facility and have received a redress payment or will receive one in the future.

This also impacts people whose partner has received or will receive a redress payment. This is because half of the combined assets of both members of a couple is included in their means assessment.

To access this exemption, you will need to notify Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. If you or your partner have received a redress payment, you will need to provide the relevant agency with either a:

• ‘Payment from the National Redress Scheme NRS049’ letter, or;
• ‘Payment from the National Redress Scheme NRS049I’ if you are receiving your redress payment in instalments.

In addition to the above letter, you will also need to provide supporting financial documents such as bank statements. This could also include financial statements if the redress payment you have received has been invested.

If you do not have a copy of your Payment from the National Redress Scheme NRS049 or NRS049I letter, you can contact the National Redress Scheme on 1800 737 377 to request another copy.

If you would like to discuss the best method to provide this paperwork to the relevant agency, or more information on what this change will mean for you, you can contact Services Australia on 13 24 68 or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs on 1800 838 372.

Survivors and their partners are encouraged to follow the instructions outlined above to access this exemption.

The National Redress Scheme, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Services Australia, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are working together to establish a limited information sharing arrangement. This would allow the National Redress Scheme to share your redress payment information on your behalf to access this exemption, but this has not been finalised.

For more information about residential aged care and this change, visit the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s website(Opens in a new tab/window) and the My Aged Care website.(Opens in a new tab/window)

Scheme data

As at 4 July 2025, there have been 63,995 applications to the Scheme.

• 22,721 applicants have had their outcomes advised. Of these 19,008 payments have been made totalling approximately $1.7 billion dollars
• 2,979 have been withdrawn by the applicant
• 38,295 applications are yet to receive an outcome. Of which:
  • 25,602 applications are actionable by the Scheme.
    • 6,489 applications are being validated with the initial contact being made
    • 13,046 applications are in the information gathering stage
    • 5,801 applications are with an IDM for a determination
    • 266 applications are being prepared for delivery of the outcome
  • 6,144 applications are unable to be actioned by the Scheme. Of these:
    • 4,324 are awaiting the applicant to provide additional information
    • 1,820 are undergoing a special assessment for serious criminal conviction/applying from gaol
• 6,549 applications are on hold.

Participating institutions update

The Minister's Declaration is an official list of all participating institutions. It is updated when a new institution joins the Scheme or the status of a participating institution changes.

On 10 July 2025, Yorganop Association Incorporated was revoked from the National Redress Scheme as a participating institution. Applications that name Yorganop Association Incorporated may experience some delays while its ability to participate is reassessed by the National Redress Scheme.

The Declarations are available on the Federal Register of Legislation(Opens in a new tab/window). For the latest information about institutions, visit the Institutions page on our website. If you have concerns because of an institution’s participation status with the National Redress Scheme, please contact the National Redress Scheme on 1800 737 377 to speak to someone about your application.

Upcoming free National Redress Scheme webinar for people with disability

People with disability may experience barriers in disclosing, speaking about and/or reporting abuse they experienced while in an institution. Family members, carers and support workers can help in overcoming these barriers.

The National Redress Scheme is holding a free public webinar with People with Disability Australia (PWDA). The webinar will provide people with disability, their family and carers, support workers, and support services with detailed information about accessibility and the National Redress Scheme.

The webinar will be held online through Zoom on Wednesday 23 July 2025, at:

• 1:00pm – 2:00pm AEST (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Tasmania)
• 12:30pm – 1:30pm ACST (Adelaide, Darwin)
• 11:00am – 12:00pm AWST (Perth)

The event will be fully accessible and include live captioning and Auslan interpretation. You can also advise of other accessibility requirements when registering.

Registrations will open soon through PWDA’s event page(Opens in a new tab/window), and you will receive access to attend closer to the event date.

National Redress Scheme data

As at 30 May 2025, there have been 62,157 applications to the National Redress Scheme.

• 22,207 applicants have had their outcomes advised. Of these 18,639 payments have been made totalling approximately $1.67 billion dollars
• 2,863 have been withdrawn by the applicant
• 37,087 applications are yet to receive an outcome. Of which:
  • 24,544 applications are actionable by the Scheme.
    • 5,700 applications are being validated with the initial contact being made
    • 13,572 applications are in the information gathering stage
    • 4,706 applications are with an IDM for a determination
    • 566 applications are being prepared for delivery of the outcome
  • 5,773 applications are unable to be actioned by the Scheme. Of these:
    • 3,982 are awaiting the applicant to provide additional information
    • 1,791 are undergoing a special assessment for serious criminal conviction/applying from gaol
• 6,770 applications are on hold.

Participating institutions update

The Minister's Declaration is an official list of all participating institutions. It is updated when a new institution joins the National Redress Scheme or the status of a participating institution changes.

As at 9 June 2025, data regarding participating institutions remains the same as included in the May update.

The Declarations are available on the Federal Register of Legislation(Opens in a new tab/window). For the latest information about institutions, visit the Institutions page on our website.