Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I move the final amendment in my name, opposition amendment (8):

(8) Schedule 1, item 51, page 18 (after line 30), at the end of Part 8-2, add:

206 Better recognising the impact of sexual abuse

(1) As soon as practicable after this section commences, the Minister must consider the action that needs to be taken to have the assessment framework better recognise the impact of sexual abuse.

(2) Within 90 days after this section commences, the Minister must prepare a report on:

(a) what the Minister has done, or plans to do, to have the assessment framework better recognise the impact of sexual abuse; or

(b) if the Minister has not done, and does not plan to do, anything—the Minister’s reasons for this.

(3) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of the Parliament on or before the first sitting day of that House after the end of those 90 days.

(4) In this section:

action includes amending this Act, an instrument made under this Act, or any other law.

This amendment is about recognising the impact of abuse. This would require the impact of abuse to be better recognised. Survivors have told me about the cruel and arbitrary matrix which links payments for the impacts of abuse to the nature of the abuse. This needs to change so that payments for abuse are calculated independently, as recommended by the royal commission.

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