The federal government's inquiry into the National Redress Scheme will now be held over teleconference, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Joint Select Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme will still hear from survivors, witnesses, and others in Ballarat on Friday, March 20, but from Canberra via teleconference.
The proceedings will be broadcast on the Parliament House website from 9.30am to 1.30pm, at www.aph.gov.au/live.
The Melbourne hearing will also be heard via teleconference, from 9.30am to 4.45pm on Thursday.
According to a media release, the committee will hear from survivors about their experiences of the process of applying to the National Redress Scheme.
The Department of Social Services will also make its second appearance before the committee to discuss its implementation of the scheme.
Survivors and advocates can make written submissions to the inquiry via email.
The National Redress Scheme was developed in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, providing a way for survivors to receive redress from offending institutions.
As of February 6, 162 non-government institutions were participating in the scheme - up from 67 last year, in addition to the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, according to the NRS website.
As of February 6, the total number of sites, including churches, schools, children's home and charities across Australia that had joined the scheme, had increased from 41,900 to 47,600, meaning that more applications that were on hold can be progressed.
As of January 31, more than 6000 applications had received, and more than 1300 decisions had been made.
The scheme has been criticised by survivors and advocates who say the payouts are too low, there is no ongoing support, and the difficulty in getting a resolution is off-putting.
Organisations and institutions have until June 30 to sign up to the scheme.
For more information on the scheme, visit the website, and for more information on the committee hearings, its website is tracking proceedings.
Affected by this story? There is help available. You can phone CASA, Sebastopol on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292. Or phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
