National Redress Scheme second anniversary review
This consultation has now closed.
The National Redress Scheme is for people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. It was established on 1 July 2018 and will operate for 10 years. Two years in, it is time to hear from you about your experience of the Scheme.
Everyone is welcome to have a say, and everyone’s experience matters.
We want to hear from people who have applied for redress, as well as those who have not.
Feedback is open to:
- previous and current applicants
- families, friends, carers, anyone that has or is supporting someone with their redress journey
- people who have commenced an application but have not proceeded with it or who have decided not to apply for redress through the Scheme.
You can provide feedback by:
- making a submission
- participating in a feedback study.
You can choose to make a submission and participate in the study, or just choose one, whichever works best for you. Submissions are now open and the feedback study will be available for completion from August 2020.
We will not ask you to share your personal experience of abuse, and you do not have to include any personal information unless you want to. It’s your opportunity to tell us how we have done so far, so that we can learn and improve.
How the Scheme will consider your feedback
Providing feedback can be a difficult thing to do.
It can also be difficult to hear and it can also be difficult to respond. This is why an independent reviewer has been appointed.
The independent reviewer is Robyn Kruk AO. Robyn’s role is to listen to your feedback, and provide a report to government. Government will consider Robyn’s report and it must publically respond. We will publish Robyn’s report and the Government’s response so it is open and transparent.
We want to improve the Scheme, and we want to do that together.
Making a submission
A submission allows you to write about your experience with the Scheme in your own words in your own way. It is open and flexible, and can be as long or short as you want it to be.
The things we would be interested in hearing from you would include things like:
- what you think about the application process,
- your experience accessing a support service,
- what you thought about the redress decision,
- your experience accessing counselling,
- your experience accessing a direct personal response, and
- anything you want to share, good or bad, about the Scheme.
If you haven’t applied for redress, you can still make a submission. You can write about why you haven’t applied. Again, it is your story and we want to hear from you.
Providing feedback
Pre-prepared questions are a good option for people who want to provide feedback without writing a submission.
You might choose to respond to prepared questions if you don’t know exactly what you want to say, but want to provide feedback. It is a great way to hear from many people and get an understanding of the range of experiences of the Scheme.
The feedback questions will ask for your views on things like how you found the application process, how long it took for your application to be processed, what you thought about the redress decision, your experience accessing counselling and the direct personal response process. If you have not applied there is a short version for you so that you can tell us why you have not applied if you want to.
We will not ask you to share your personal experience of abuse as outlined in your redress application. We don’t need to know, we just want to hear whether you have been supported in your redress journey and whether we have met your expectations.
You will be able to access the feedback study from the National Redress Scheme website from mid-August 2020 until 30 September 2020. We can help you have your say if you are unable to complete the online study. To access assistance please email the review team at redressreview@dss.gov.au requesting a call back, leaving details of your name, contact number and a preferred time.
Again, tell us what you want, and as much or as little as you want. We appreciate everything and anything you share with us.
If you need assistance
If you need support while making a submission or participating in the feedback study, free, confidential Redress Support Services are available to help you. You can search the Scheme website for a support service close to you.
If you need crisis support, contact one of the below services:
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
- Mensline 1300 78 99 78
- Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
- In an emergency call Triple Zero (000)
Privacy Statement
The feedback study is anonymous and your responses are confidential. We will not ask for your name or any identifying details, institution names, or the name of any organisations you work for or with as you complete the feedback study. We ask questions about your age and location to help understand what’s important to different groups of people.
The department will treat any information you provide in accordance with our privacy policy, which outlines how the department will collect, use and disclose information from or about individuals. Under the Privacy Act 1988, we are required to tell you why we are collecting the information, whether it is required or authorised by law and to whom we will disclose the information.
Contact Us
Further updates about the second year review will be posted regularly on the National Redress Scheme webpage.
For any other enquiries please email redressreview@dss.gov.au.