April update 2022

This newsletter covers an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It provides details on the Scheme’s application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Recent progress and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 25 March 2022, the Scheme:

Had received 14,582 applications.

  • Made 9,164 decisions — including 7,889 payments, totalling over $682.6 million (m), with an average of $86,521
  • Has made 8,679 offers for redress. Applicants have six months to consider their offer of redress.
  • 5,923 applications are currently being progressed, 702 are on hold or paused, including 112 applications due to institution not participating (representing 1.9% of applications on hand).
  • The total number of applications finalised and redress payments in Year 1 are 239 ($19.8m), 2,537 ($205.0m) in Year 2, 3,283 ($285.0m) in Year 3 of the Scheme and 2,148 ($172.8m) in Year 4 of the Scheme.
  • 43 IDMs are currently actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 2, signed by the Minister on 7 March 2022:

  • All Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 577 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme.
  • Approximately 70,200 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme.
  • To date, 63 institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.
    • These institutions are defunct, a government is equally responsible for the abuse and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available on via the Federal Register of Legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00171(Opens in a new tab/window)

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

May update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme).  It includes details on the Scheme’s application processing and  participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 22 April 2022, the Scheme:

  • Had received 15,280 applications.
  • Made 9,417 decisions — including 8,087 payments, totalling over $700.1 million (m), with an average of $86,566.
  • Had made 9,167 offers for redress. Applicants have six months to consider their offer of redress.
  • 5,638 applications are currently being progressed, 710 are on hold or paused, including 113 applications due to institution not participating (representing 1.8% of applications on hand). 
  • The total number of applications finalised and redress payments in Year 1 are 239 ($19.8m), 2,537 ($205.0m) in Year 2, 3,283 ($285.0m) in Year 3 of the Scheme and 2,417 ($190.3m) in Year 4 of the Scheme.
  • 43 IDMs are currently actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 3, signed by the Minister on 1 April 2022:

  • All Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 585 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme. 
  • Approximately 70,200 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme. 
  • To date, 65 institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements. 
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available on via the Federal Register of Legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00171(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

June update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It includes details on the Scheme’s application processing, the new Direct Personal Response Information Service and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 20 May 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 15,950 applications.
  • made 9,633 decisions — including 8,342 payments, totalling over $723.3 million (m), with an average of $86,712.
  • had made 9,420 offers for redress. Applicants have six months to consider their offer of redress.
  • is currently progressing 6,067 applications.
  • had 740 applications that are on hold or paused, including 114 applications due to institution not participating (representing 1.7% of applications on hand).
  • had finalised 8,683 applications and made $723.4m in redress payments. The total number of applications finalised and redress payments in Year 1 are 239 ($19.8m). 2,537 ($205.0m) in Year 2, 3,283 ($285.0m) in Year 3 of the Scheme and 2,624 ($213.6m) in Year 4 of the Scheme.
  • had 43 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 3, signed by the Minister on 1 April 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 585 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme.
  • approximately 70,400 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme.
  • there are 67 institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal Register of Legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00171(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Direct Personal Response Information and Support Service

The Scheme has recently introduced the new Direct Personal Response (DPR) Information and Support (IS) service.

The DPR IS service helps survivors, their nominees and support persons to learn more about direct personal response - what it is, what it can involve and what it might look like for them. It can also help survivors to contact the responsible institution(s) to start the DPR process, or connect them with a Redress Support Service to support them during the process.

The service assists participating institutions through the provision of information about the DPR process (including an institution’s DPR obligations, skills required and training obligations) and supporting them to provide a meaningful outcome for the survivor.

To contact the DPR IS service, call 1800 737 377 and ask to speak with a member of the service.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

July update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It includes details on the Scheme’s application processing, the new Direct Personal Response Information Service and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 24 June 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 16,859 applications.
  • made 9,923 decisions — including 8,621 payments, totalling over $748.9 million (m), with an average of $86,869.
  • had made 9,726 offers for redress. Applicants have six months to consider their offer of redress.
  • is currently progressing 6,623 applications.
  • had 785 applications that are on hold or paused, including 119 applications due to institution not participating (representing 1.6% of applications on hand).
  • had finalised 8,978 applications.
  • the total number of applications finalised and redress payments in Year 1 are 239 ($19.8m), 2,537 ($205.0m) in Year 2, 3,283 ($285.0m) in Year 3 of the Scheme and 2,919 ($239.1m) in Year 4 of the Scheme.
  • had 43 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 3, signed by the Minister on 30 March 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 585 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme.
  • approximately 70,200 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme.
  • there are 67 institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal

Register of Legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00171(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Delivering more support for applicants

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth has announced grant funding of over $39 million to deliver support services to people applying for the National Redress Scheme from 1 July 2022.

The 43 specialist service providers selected as part of the open competitive grant round will continue to meet the needs of people applying for Redress.

The successful applicants include 28 organisations that are existing Redress Support Services who will continue or expand their good work.

Fifteen new organisations will commence delivering Redress Support Services from 1 July 2022, including at least one new provider in each state and territory.

They will provide free, confidential, practical and emotional support to people before, during and after they apply for redress. Free legal and financial counselling support is also offered by knowmore.

Further information about Redress Support Services is available on the website: www.nationalredress.gov.au/support.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

August update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It includes details on the Scheme’s application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 29 July 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 17,783 applications.
  • made 10,184 decisions (through the Scheme’s Independent Decision Makers (IDMs)) — including 8,968 payments, totalling approximately $781 million (m), with an average of $87,119.
  • Of the 10,038 outcomes issued, 9,765 applicants (representing 97.3% of all outcomes issued) are eligible for redress and 273 (representing 2.7% of all outcomes issued) are ineligible.
  • is currently progressing 7,953 applications.
  • had 1,587 applications that are on hold or paused, including 121 applications due to institution not participating (representing 1.5% of applications on hand).
  • had finalised 9,342 applications.
  • had 45 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 4, signed by the Minister on 21 July 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 598 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme. 
  • approximately 70,400 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme. 
  • 73 unique institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements. 
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal

Register of Legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00727(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

July is reporting time for participating institutions with regard to Direct Personal Responses delivered. Many thanks to those institutions that have already responded and we look forward to receiving reports from the remaining institutions.

Update to the Member Service Portal

Following the recent announcement of 15 new Redress Support Services from 1 July, in the near future there will be a banner on Redress Member Services to encourage applicants to access Redress Support Services prior to submitting complete Redress applications.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

September update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme).  It includes details on the Scheme’s new Service Charter, application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Your National Redress Scheme Service Charter

The Scheme is committed to improving how we serve survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. That is why we are introducing the National Redress Scheme Service Charter (the Charter). The Charter will explain what you can expect from the Scheme and the redress process.

The Charter was launched on 1 September 2022 in response to Recommendation 2.1 of the Second Anniversary Review.

The Charter sets out our commitments to survivors to support each stage of the redress journey. It has:

principles that everyone who provides services as part of the Scheme should follow
commitments about what we will do to support each stage of the redress journey
service standards to create consistency and accountability for the way we support you through the redress process
information about how we will show that we are meeting our commitments
ways you can contact us.

Download the Service Charter here.

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 26 August 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 18,516 applications.
  • made 10,477 decisions (through the Scheme’s Independent Decision Makers (IDMs)) — including 9,184 payments, totalling approximately $801 million (m), with an average of $87,240.
  • Of the 10,273 outcomes issued, 9,995 applicants (representing 97.3% of all outcomes issued) are eligible for redress and 278 (representing 2.7% of all outcomes issued) are ineligible.
  • is currently progressing 8,443 applications. 
  • had 1,778 applications that are on hold or paused, including 122 applications due to an institution not participating (representing 1.4% of applications on hand). 
  • had finalised 9,566 applications.
  • had 45 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 4, signed by the Minister on 21 July 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 598 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme. 
  • approximately 70,400 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme. 
  • 73 unique institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal Register of Legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00727.(Opens in a new tab/window) 

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

October update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme).  It includes details on the Ministers Board Meeting, application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Communique from the Ministers Board Meeting.

The Ministers responsible for the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (the Scheme) met via video conference on 7 October 2022.

Ministers confirmed their resolute and ongoing commitment to improving support for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse.

A key decision will now provide survivors with formal input into the Scheme’s operations by incorporating the Survivor Roundtable into the formal governance arrangements, which will embed a survivor voice within the Scheme.

You can read the communique.(Opens in a new tab/window)

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 23 September 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 19,201 applications.
  • made 10,795 decisions (through the Scheme’s Independent Decision Makers (IDMs)) — including 9,425 payments, totalling approximately $824.8 million (m), with an average of $87,513.
  • made 1,072 advance payments since their introduction in September 2021.
  • issued 10,605 outcomes, of which 10,314 applicants (representing 97.3% of all outcomes issued) are eligible for redress and 291 (representing 2.7% of all outcomes issued) are ineligible.
  • is currently progressing 8,856 applications.
  • had 2,031 applications that are on hold or paused, including 1,110 where further information is required, at the request of the applicant or nominee, or where there are difficulties in contacting the applicant, and 125 due to an institution not yet participating in the scheme.
  • had finalised 9,819 applications.
  • had 45 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 4, signed by the Minister on 21 July 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 598 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme. 
  • approximately 70,400 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme. 
  • 75 unique institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements. 
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal Register of Legislation(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

November update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It includes details on application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Application processing and recent institutions to join:

Application progress

As of 28 October 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 20,074 applications.
  • made 11,203 decisions (through the Scheme’s Independent Decision Makers (IDMs)) — including 9,425 payments, totalling approximately $861 million (m), with an average of $87,777.
  • made 1,157 advance payments since their introduction in September 2021.
  • issued 11,006 outcomes, of which 10,702 applicants (representing 97% of all outcomes issued) are eligible for redress and 304 (representing 3% of all outcomes issued) are ineligible.
  • is currently progressing 9,295 applications.
  • had 2,055 applications that are on hold or paused, including 1,921 where further information is required, at the request of the applicant or nominee, or where there are difficulties in contacting the applicant, and 134 due to an institution not yet participating in the scheme.
  • had finalised 10,217 applications.
  • had 45 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

All institutions where child sexual abuse has occurred are encouraged to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 5, signed by the Minister on 12 July 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 604 non government institutions are now participating in the Scheme.
  • approximately 71,000 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme.
  • 75 unique institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal Register of Legislation(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

December update 2022

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It includes details on changes to the way people living in Western Australia can get Counselling and Psychological Care, application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 
www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Christmas period phone line closures

The National Redress Scheme 1800 phone line will be closed on the National Public Holidays of 26 and 27 December 2022.

The phone line will also close 2 January 2023, and re-open on 8am Wednesday 3 January 2023.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Changes to Western Australia's Counselling and Psychological Care (CPC) arrangements

From 1 January 2023, the Western Australia government will be changing the way Counselling and Psychological Care (CPC) is administered in Western Australia.

Applicants who receive an offer after 1 January 2023 will now be offered access to counselling and psychological care services through a qualified practitioner.

Click here for more information

Application progress

As of 9 December 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 21,197 applications.
  • made 11,750 decisions (through the Scheme’s Independent Decision Makers (IDMs)) — including 10,750 payments, totalling approximately $908 million, with an average of $87,955.
  • made 1,234 advance payments since their introduction in September 2021.
    issued 11,548 outcomes, of which 11,217 applicants (representing 97% of all outcomes issued) are eligible for redress and 331 (representing 3% of all outcomes issued) are ineligible. 
  • was progressing 9,793 applications. 
  • had 2,215 applications that are on hold or paused, including 2,053 where further information is required, at the request of the applicant or nominee, or where there are difficulties in contacting the applicant, and 162 due to an institution not yet participating in the scheme.
  • had finalised 10,750 applications.
  • had 45 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

The government encourages all institutions who have a history of interacting with children to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at amendment Declaration No. 6 of 2022 and Funder of Last Resort Declaration No. 7, signed by the Minister on 28 November 2022

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 616 non-government institutions are now participating in the Scheme.
  • approximately 71,000 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme.
  • 86 unique institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.
    • These institutions are defunct and the Commonwealth and/or relevant state governments are the FOLR.

A number of institutions were recently added to the Scheme legislation. This declaration is available via the Federal Register of Legislation: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00727(Opens in a new tab/window).

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

January update 2023

This newsletter provides an update on the National Redress Scheme (the Scheme). It includes details on the Scheme’s application processing and participating institutions.

The update contains material that could be confronting or distressing. Sometimes words or images can cause sadness or distress or trigger traumatic memories, particularly for people who have experienced past abuse or childhood trauma.

Support is available to help you if you need it. To find out more, go to 

www.nationalredress.gov.au/help-support/get-free-help-apply/redress-support-services.

If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:

Application progress

As of 30 December 2022, the Scheme:

  • had received 21,674 applications.
  • made 11,915 decisions (through the Scheme’s Independent Decision Makers (IDMs))—including 10,453 payments, totalling approximately $919.4 million, with an average of $87,960.
  • made 1,257 advance payments since their introduction in September 2021.
  • issued 11,631 outcomes, of which 11,306 applicants (representing 97% of all outcomes issued) are eligible for redress and 325 (representing 3% of all outcomes issued) are ineligible.
  • was progressing 10,096 applications.
  • had 2,227 applications that are on hold or paused, including 2,063 where further information is required at the request of the applicant or nominee, or where there are difficulties in contacting the applicant, and 164 due to an institution not yet participating in the Scheme.
  • had finalised 10,893 applications.
  • had 45 IDMs actively making decisions.

Participating institutions update

The government encourages all institutions who have a history of interacting with children to sign up to the Scheme as soon as possible.

As at Declaration 7, signed by the Minister on 21 December 2022:

  • all Commonwealth and State and Territory government institutions and 629 non‑government institutions are now participating in the Scheme.
  • approximately 71,000 sites across Australia are now covered by the Scheme.
  • 96 unique institutions have been declared under the Funder of Last Resort (FOLR) arrangements.

For the latest information about institutions, visit our website:
www.nationalredress.gov.au/institutions.

Find out more

For further information about the Scheme, go to www.nationalredress.gov.au or call 1800 737 377 Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm AET from Australia or +61 2 6222 3455 from overseas.

For regular updates about the Department of Social Services and the Scheme, you can ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the Australian Families Facebook page: facebook.com/FamiliesInAustralia(Opens in a new tab/window).

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