Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This is the companion bill to the Commonwealth Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Bill 2017, which will establish a redress scheme for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. The establishment of the scheme is an acknowledgment by the government that child sexual abuse suffered by children in Commonwealth institutional settings was wrong and should never have occurred.

This companion bill provides consequential amendments to Commonwealth legislation in light of the scheme. For example, amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 will ensure the payments are not income tested and will not reduce the income support payments of survivors who receive payments under the scheme. The payments will also be quarantined from the divisible property of a bankrupt to ensure that the survivor has the full benefit of their payment.

This companion bill provides consequential amendments to Commonwealth legislation in light of the scheme. For example, amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 and Veteran's Entitlements Act 1986 will ensure the payments are not income tested and will not reduce the income support payments of survivors who receive payments under the scheme. The payments will also be quarantined from the divisible property of a bankrupt to ensure the survivor has the full benefit of their payment.

It is the case that this companion bill will also remove external review mechanisms, and allow disclosure of spent, quashed and pardoned convictions to the scheme. These amendments are essential to implement and maintain the integrity of the scheme. It will ensure the scheme remains survivor focused and trauma informed by being a non-legalistic process for survivors who have already suffered so much. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.