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ABC News
ABC News
National
Jade Macmillan

Government names and shames institutions yet to sign up to child sexual abuse redress scheme

The redress scheme offers compensation payments and counselling to child abuse victims.

The Federal Government has published a list of more than 100 institutions yet to sign up to the National Redress Scheme for victims of child sexual abuse.

The list includes a range of religious institutions, as well as sporting and community groups, along with timeframes for those that indicated they would join but had not yet.

Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher urged institutions still holding out to get on board.

"This is important information for survivors and for the community generally," he said.

"What we generally see … is that when the news comes out that an institution has joined, that generally prompts a number of applications to then come in from survivors of abuse within that institution."

The redress scheme was established in response to the child sexual abuse royal commission and offers compensation payments and counselling.

Twenty-seven non-government institutions have signed up so far, seven of which joined today, including the Christian Brothers and the Marist Brothers.

More than 2,700 redress applications have been lodged but Mr Fletcher said of those, in cases where the institution could be identified, nearly half related to organisations that had not signed up.

"And that is why I am calling on institutions which have not yet joined the scheme, where historical child sexual abuse may have occurred, to take the necessary steps to join the scheme as soon as possible," he said.

Fifty-one people have received payments so far while 31 offers had been made. A Senate estimates hearing was told the average payment was $79,000.

Mr Fletcher expected more people to apply in the wake of Cardinal George Pell's conviction for child sex offences.

"Whenever there is public attention and media coverage of incidences of historic child sexual abuse, we have experienced with the operation of the scheme, an increase in the number of applications that come in," he said.

"So I think that it is likely that the news of this week will prompt more survivors to apply for redress."

Editor's note: On Tuesday April 7, 2020, the High Court in a unanimous decision upheld Cardinal Pell's appeal and quashed his convictions on all five charges.

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