National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Rules 2018

This legislation sets out detailed rules for the National Redress Scheme, which provides compensation and support to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Australia.

What it does:

• Expands eligibility to include certain child migrants from the UK and Malta who were sent to Australia before 1984 and abused while in institutional care
• Defines when institutions are responsible for abuse, including special rules for:
  • Government institutions that arranged care with non-government institutions
  • Commonwealth defence institutions connected to cadet forces
  • Multiple institutions sharing responsibility for child migrants
• Sets out how costs are shared between responsible institutions when multiple institutions are liable
• Limits liability for Commonwealth institutions to no more than half the governmental share in child migrant cases
• Excludes certain abuse from the scheme (sexual abuse by a child without physical contact or penetration)
• Protects prior payments from reducing redress in certain circumstances (veterans' benefits, medical expenses, etc.)
• Requires written agreements for institutions to participate and sets rules for representatives of defunct institutions