Appendix: National Redress Scheme Victims Support

Abstract

The Commonwealth recently announced better support services for National Redress Scheme (NRS) applicants, following recommendations from the Kruk Review into the National Redress Scheme. An analysis of the number of potential Redress applicants originally suggested an estimate of 60,000 survivors which was later re-estimated at 40,0000, however this does not differentiate between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) applicants and non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants. At the end June 2020, just 2,726 applicants had received payments averaging at $82,000. By 31 October 2020, 9117 applications had been received. The Royal Commission originally estimated that the number of applications would be in the region of 20,000 between 2019-2021. The significantly small number of applications that were assessed and remunerated by the end of June 2020 is a serious concern and implies several shortcomings of the scheme for all survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, particularly ATSI survivors who continue to face trauma caused by the Stolen Generation in addition to the trauma of institutional child sexual abuse.This paper considers the key problems and shortcomings associated with the NRS and the application process for ATSI applicants. It considers issues such as lack of cultural support and safety, and re-experiencing trauma as aspects as to why ATSI survivors are not seeking financial redress, and recommends a way forward based on submissions from groups who work closely with ATSI survivors