Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

In September I spoke on a similar bill regarding the National Redress Scheme, and I expressed my sadness and sympathy for all victims of child sexual abuse. I stand in this place and, indeed, speak of the unspeakable tragedies that have been forced upon the innocents of our nation. Since the Morrison government introduced the National Redress Scheme, the justice that has always seemed unattainable is no longer out of reach, enabling healing and restoration of the lives of those survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Survivors of abuse carry a deep burden which should never have come to bear. Coming to terms with the trauma of such horrific acts is not as simple as putting a bandaid on a paper cut. The pain runs so much deeper. It's endured for lifetimes, and in many cases it will never truly leave the psyche of victims who suffered at the hands of institutions and individuals with a desire to inflict their deranged harm on innocent souls.

I speak directly to survivors when I acknowledge that the National Redress Scheme, for many, will not fully heal your physical and mental wounds but plays a role in beginning your healing journey. As Australians, as a nation and as a government, we support you, we hear you and we believe you. No matter how long it's taken for you to bravely come forward, mustering the courage to share your story is life-saving. It encourages other survivors to share their stories, and it creates a ripple effect of change so that we as a nation can eliminate the risk of possible perpetrators harming children and vulnerable individuals now and into the future.

I speak to the victims who have not yet found their voice, have not yet seen justice, or have had justice denied, and to those who have been brave enough to stand before the law and stand before their perpetrator yet are still denied justice for the gross and callous theft of their childhoods by these evil, selfish and deranged sexual predators. There will be survivors who may be watching this, or listening, who have not yet found their voice. To those individuals, I implore you not to be discouraged. Do not be frightened. When you are ready to speak, we are ready to listen.

The National Redress Scheme is not just monetary compensation. The component of the scheme which covers monetary compensation is for the purpose of rebuilding lives stolen by individuals and institutions who abused them. All of these institutions are listed on the National Redress Scheme website and, for the public's information, those institutions that have not signed up to this scheme are also listed on the website. We know there are victims who have been, and continue to be, sexually abused in non-institutional settings—for example, in the home, by a relative or in a sporting environment. It must stop. The harm is caused to children and society more broadly, and it must stop. There's no greater cause of pain than to be abused by someone who is supposed to protect you, and this affects the ability to create what are considered to be normal functioning relationships across individual lifetimes.

The National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Funders of Last Resort and Other Measures) Bill 2021 reflects the next instalment of legislative change in response to the second-year review of the scheme. It expands the funder of last resort arrangements, a significant recommendation made as part of the second-year review and one which the government has been very public in its support for. The bill also strengthens the legislative basis on which institutions are publicly named as having not joined the scheme, which makes the current practice clear and administratively efficient. The bill responds to recommendation 5.2 of the second-year review and recognises that some survivors continue to be unable to access redress through the scheme. Currently, a person can only access redress under the funder of last resort arrangements where a government—state, territory or Commonwealth—is equally responsible for the abuse of the person. This bill recognises that, regardless of whether a government was involved in the abuse of the person, where the institution responsible for the abuse no longer exists or does not have the financial capacity to participate in the scheme the impacted survivors and victims should have the opportunity to access some redress. Expanding the funder of last resort arrangements will increase access to the scheme for those survivors and those victims. Survivors should also be informed about an institution's status in joining the scheme through public naming of relevant institutions so they can make informed decisions. Public naming has also proven successful in encouraging institutions to join the Redress Scheme.

This bill expands the funder of last resort arrangements to allow state and territory governments to be funders of last resort, regardless of whether a government was involved in that abuse of the person, and where the institution responsible for the abuse may no longer exist. This will increase access for survivors who would otherwise be unable to access redress through the scheme and may have limited ability to pursue civil litigation. There would be very many Australians out there who have a limited ability to do that. Wherever possible, an overarching institution that is affiliated with the defunct institution will be called on to take responsibility. However, in cases where there are no such parent institutions, governments can step in and enable access to that redress.

The bill provides that a government can be a funder of last resort for an institution that is unable to meet the legislative requirements to participate in the scheme. An institution cannot be declared as participating in the scheme unless there are reasonable grounds to expect that they can discharge their liabilities and obligations under the scheme. An institution that does not have the financial capacity to pay its redress liabilities would not meet this requirement. The costs of the redress in this case fall on the relevant governments, and this ensures that institutions that still exist but have no financial capacity have a role to play in working with those survivors. The amendments mean that survivors naming these institutions will now have the ability to access that redress. That's good news for Australians who are affected by this Redress Scheme or able to reach it.

The government has committed more than $80 million over four years in the 2021-22 budget to support the implementation of recommendations of the review. This includes $22.8 million over four years from 2021-22 for the Commonwealth's share of costs for expanding funder of last resort arrangements. The costs will be shared fifty-fifty with the relevant state and territory government for applications progressed under the expanded funder of last resort arrangements.

This bill builds on action already taken by the Australian government, as I mentioned before. I spoke on some of the recommendations that we implemented in the last tranche of legislation. The government introduced a range of measures, including an advance payment for elderly and terminally ill applicants through the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment Bill 2021, which was passed by this parliament in September this year.

This bill does not represent the end of the work the Australian government—the Morrison government—is undertaking in response to the review. There is much work on the road ahead and many more recommendations to be implemented. The government, as a priority, is also progressing implementation of a range of recommendations which do not require legislative change to improve the survivor experience and the operation of the scheme more broadly. For example, work is underway, in consultation with scheme stakeholders, including through co-design processes, to improve the application form and process to better engage with survivors. Other, more complex recommendations require further development work, as well as consultation with state and territory governments and scheme stakeholders. Major changes to the design of the scheme and to legislation require agreement from state and territory governments, and decisions cannot be made in unilaterally. The government is continuing to work with states and territories on all of these matters. The staged and considered approach to responding to recommendations was outlined in the interim Australian government response to the review. The government plans to release a final response to the review in early 2022.

I'm aware that some stakeholders suggest the maximum redress payment be increased from $150,000 to $200,000, consistent with the royal commission's recommendation. The maximum payment of $150,000 was the amount supported by states and territories in the establishment of the scheme some time ago. It balances the need to recognise the wrongs suffered by survivors, while encouraging institutions to participate and continue their participation in the scheme. The current average payment amount is over $85,000, which is higher than the average payment of $65,000 that was suggested by the royal commission. It's important to note that the independent review did not make a recommendation to increase the current maximum redress payment to $200,000. Robyn Kruk concluded that increasing the maximum payment could have significant negative impacts on survivors, institutions, and the scheme more broadly. This includes risks to institutions that have predicated their participation in the scheme based on the $150,000 cap—it makes sense—leaving the scheme, or refusing to join the scheme, which would be detrimental to victims-survivors, and that is the last thing we want to do. Rather than increasing the maximum payment, which was not a review recommendation, the government is of the view that energy and resources should instead be directed at changes to the scheme that will improve the integrity, fairness and access to it.

The Morrison government supports, in principle, the recommendation to improve the equity, scope and quality of counselling support by ensuring all survivors have lifelong access to trauma informed redress counselling. Progressing this recommendation requires agreement by all jurisdictions, and the government will consider it in consultation with state and territory governments, service providers and of course other stakeholders.

The Australian government notes recommendation 5.1b of the review—that all internal reviews of redress offers are without prejudice to the original determination. The review also recommends further changes related to internal reviews, including the ability to provide more information. The government acknowledges the benefits of allowing further information to be provided and the greater procedural fairness that this will ultimately offer. Under current arrangements, prior payments are only considered relevant if they are made by the institution in relation to the sexual abuse or nonsexual abuse covered by the scheme. Stolen generations payments, which are not made in recognition of the abuse covered by the scheme, are not considered prior payments, and I'm sure that's also welcome. The government works closely with states and territories to identify and understand the components of each stolen generation payment made. We'll continue to work with our colleagues on the issue to ensure only payments that are relevant are considered under the scheme.

Following the review, the scheme has consulted survivors, advocates, institutions, state and territory governments on the government's response and implementing action on review recommendations. The Ministers Redress Scheme Governance Board, comprising of Commonwealth and state and territory ministers responsible for redress, was consulted on this bill, and in accordance with the scheme governance arrangements the board has agreed to the changes contained in this bill.

The scheme is voluntary, and institutions are not mandated to participate. Redress payments are made to survivors by the Commonwealth and recouped from institutions in arrears. Without the proper legal arrangements in place between the Commonwealth and participating institutions, there's a risk that funding may not be recouped.

Monetary repayments are only one part of redress. Applicants are also entitled to a direct personal response from the institutions responsible for their abuse. Often, more times than not, that would mean more than the financial payment. Without institutions signing up to the scheme, the government would not be able to offer this important part of redress to applicants, so I encourage all of those Australians who have been affected by childhood sexual abuse to come forward and apply for the redress that you are absolutely entitled to.

See this speech in context