15th Sep 2016, 12:50 PM – Senate Motions - National Redress Scheme for Survivors of Institutional Sexual Abuse - Create and consult

The majority voted in favour of a motion to create a national redress scheme for survivors of institutional sexual abuse.

Motions like these don't have any legal force (so it can't create a redress scheme by itself), but represent the opinion of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) recognises the immense suffering of survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, and that survivors may be affected by the abuse for their whole lives;

(b) acknowledges that 14 September 2016 marks the one year anniversary of the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse;

(c) calls on the Federal Government to establish a National Redress Scheme for Survivors of Institutional Sexual Abuse, following recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which include:

(i) the creation of a single national redress scheme, coordinated by the Federal Government, and not outsourcing responsibility to the states, and

(ii) the provision of counselling and financial redress with costs met by the institutions responsible for the perpetrators of the abuse;

(d) notes that:

(i) the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended the Government announce a national redress scheme by the end of 2015 and proceed without delay, and

(ii) the Government did not meet this recommended deadline and any further delay puts at risk the recommended start date of 1 July 2017; and

(e) recommends that the Federal Government consult extensively on further details of a national redress scheme to ensure that it fully meets the ongoing and complex needs of survivors and their families.