23rd Nov 2021, 6:03 PM – Representatives National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Amendment (Funders of Last Resort and Other Measures) Bill 2021 - Second Reading - Support and redress

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing of an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is that the the bill be read for a second time - parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill. Because this vote passed, the amendment failed. It was introduced by Barton MP Linda Burney (Labor).

Amendment text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse estimated 60,000 survivors would be eligible for redress;

(b) as of March 2021, after almost three years of operation, the National Redress Scheme had seen only 5,275 payments made;

(c) the average processing time for a claim under the Scheme is over a year; and

(d) the Government has not implemented all the recommendations of the two-year review of the National Redress Scheme; and

(2) calls on the Government to work with states and territories to:

(a) lift the cap on Redress payments to $200,000, as recommended by the Royal Commission;

(b) fix the assessment matrix so it properly takes into account the impact of abuse; and

(c) provide ongoing support for survivors".