Concerns for victim-survivors of child abuse as redress scheme is deluged with claims

Child abuse survivors inundated the national redress scheme with compensation claims in the final months of last year, prompting concerns of massive delays for vulnerable survivors.

The Guardian revealed in early November that the number of redress claims waiting to be finalised had more than doubled in two years.

The scheme also has record levels of applications that are still being processed.

That is a huge increase compared with 2021. In January 2021, there were only 3,460 applications being progressed by the redress scheme, down from 4,188 in December 2020.

The influx of claims is due, partly at least, to the removal of barriers for survivors. The government last year removed a requirement for applicants to provide a signed statutory declaration as part of their claim. The process has also been streamlined to make it easier for survivors.

No concerns have been raised about the increase in applications. The trend has in fact been welcomed by advocacy groups.

But there are real concerns around the staffing and resources available for the scheme to deal with the influx.

The data shows the number of independent decision makers employed to assess redress claims did not significantly change throughout 2022.

The data suggests decisions and payments are being made at roughly the same rate, despite the surge in applications.

That has prompted concern among experts of a looming backlog, which could cause delays.

Prof James Ogloff, an expert in forensic behavioural science at Swinburne University of Technology, said that any delay caused by the backlog will further harm survivors.

The national redress scheme was established in the wake of the 2013 royal commission and has been operating for four years, offering capped amounts of compensation to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.

Rishworth said the government planned to respond to the review. Some of its more urgent recommendations have already been acted upon.