After decades of living with trauma from the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Catholic institutions, Nyul Nyul man David Francis received compensation earlier this year through the National Redress Scheme.
Mr Francis does not like to talk about what happened to him in the church-run missions where he was raised but like almost 10,000 Australians, he wrote down the intimate details of his experience for the application process.
"I didn't really like it much but you've got to give them all the details ... when you're looking for compensation you've got to answer the hard questions," he said.
But the findings of a second-year review that showed Aboriginal survivors were often not getting equal access to the scheme has caused him to question whether the painful process was genuine.
"It doesn't resolve anything for anybody."
More likely to have payments reduced
Mr Francis decided to add his voice to growing concerns that Indigenous people were being left behind.
The review, commissioned by the federal government, called for a "significant and urgent reset".
It found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait survivors were poorly serviced due to cultural and geographical factors, and they were more likely to have their payments reduced than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
The findings have been echoed by Aboriginal organisations tasked with reaching out to victims, and prompted an interim response from the government detailing its commitment to improving the scheme.
'Why aren't more Indigenous people making applications?'
Mr Francis is one of 2,685 applicants who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, a group that makes up almost 30 per cent of the total claimants.
Throughout the redress process, there have been concerns about the lack of engagement with Aboriginal communities.
The review found current communication methods were not appropriate and there was a lack of cultural sensitivity.
Indigenous survivors were also more likely to live in regional or rural areas, considered a "service gap" for the scheme.
In Western Australia's north, Kimberley Stolen Generation is one of the Aboriginal organisations reaching out to local survivors.
Chief executive Tania Bin Bakar said there had long been concern within these groups as to the level of support for Indigenous survivors.
Her organisation is only funded to service the town of Broome and nearby communities in a region the size of the state of Victoria.
'Unfairly excluded'
Aboriginal survivors were also more likely to have their payments reduced than their non-Indigenous counterparts, the review found.
Members of the Stolen Generations had their payments reduced because they were found to have received prior compensation, an upsetting finding for Mr Francis.
The review called for legislative amendments to correct this "anomaly".
In its response, the government committed to improving training for scheme staff but would not guarantee legislative change.
Mr Francis said it was another sign that efforts to create meaningful change were a long way off.
"Every report is the same (and) when government respond they respond slowly or not at all," he said.
Changes planned
The government said it was prioritising action on 25 of the 38 recommendations and would invest $80 million over four years to support this.
Some $4.1 million would be spent on "targeted communication activities ... to increase access to redress amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, disability and culturally and linguistically diverse populations," the report stated.
From July 1, the Kimberley Stolen Generations will receive funding to expand their outreach beyond Broome.
Ms Bin Bakar said a recent roundtable meeting between the government and Aboriginal organisations showed promise there would be improvements going forward.
"A lot of the issues raised (at that meeting) were in the recommendations so that was good to see," she said.
