This Act establishes the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse to provide redress to survivors of past institutional child sexual abuse.

Redress under the scheme is for abuse that is within the scope of the scheme. Abuse of a person is within the scope of the scheme if:

  (a)   it occurred when the person was a child; and

  (b)   it occurred before the scheme start day; and

  (c)   it occurred inside a participating State, inside a Territory, or outside Australia (that is, it did not occur inside a State that is not participating in the scheme).

Redress consists of 3 components:

  (a)   a redress payment (of up to $150,000); and

  (b)   a counselling and psychological component which, depending on where the person lives, consists of access to counselling and psychological services or a counselling and psychological services payment (of up to $5,000); and

  (c)   a direct personal response from each participating institution (and, in certain circumstances, partly - participating institutions) responsible for the abuse.

To be entitled to redress, a number of conditions need to be met. First, the person must make an application for redress. Then the person must meet the eligibility criteria. These are that:

  (a)   the person was sexually abused; and

  (b)   the abuse is within the scope of the scheme; and

  (c)   the abuse is of a kind for which the maximum amount of redress payment worked out under the assessment framework would be more than nil; and

  (d)   one or more participating institutions (or certain other institutions) are responsible for the abuse; and

  (e)   at the time of the application, the person is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident.

An institution is responsible for abuse of a person if the abuse occurred in circumstances where the institution is primarily or equally responsible for the abuser having contact with the person. Various circumstances are relevant to determining that question (e.g. whether the abuser was an official of the institution).

The participating institutions are:

  (a)   all Commonwealth institutions; and

  (b)   any State institution that is declared to be a participating institution; and

  (c)   any Territory institution that is declared to be a participating institution; and

  (d)   any non - government institution that is declared to be a participating institution.

If the Operator considers that there is a reasonable likelihood that the person is eligible for redress, the Operator must approve the application and make an offer of redress to the person. The person may accept or decline the offer.

If the person accepts the offer, then the person becomes entitled to redress under the scheme. The person is required to release particular institutions and officials from all civil liability for the abuse. Those institutions and officials are the participating institutions determined by the Operator to be responsible for the abuse, their officials, their associates and the officials of their associates. The abuser is not released from liability.

Once entitled, the person will be provided with redress under the scheme.

If the person declines the offer, then the person is not entitled to redress under the scheme. The person is not required to release any institution or official from liability for the abuse.

In certain circumstances, the Operator may make an advance payment for a person who has applied for redress.

The Operator is responsible for the administration of the scheme. To ensure that the scheme is survivor - focussed, the Operator (and other officers of the scheme) must take into account general guiding principles when taking action under the scheme. For example, one of the principles is that redress must be assessed and provided so as to avoid further harming or traumatising the person.

Participating institutions that are determined by the Operator to be responsible for the abuse of a person are liable for the costs of providing redress to the person. Those institutions are also liable for contributing to the costs of the administration of the scheme. The Operator is responsible for recovering those costs from those institutions through funding contributions, which those institutions are required to pay on a quarterly basis.