Victoria and New South Wales have become the first states to join the commonwealth’s redress scheme for child sexual abuse survivors.

The announcement is a significant win for the prospect of a truly national redress scheme for abuse survivors, which has been met with reluctance from other states, including South Australia.

The announcement means at least 15,000 people abused in government institutions will be able to access compensation, counselling and other supports through the scheme.

Another 21,000 would be covered if churches, charities and other institutions operating in NSW and Victoria opt-in, according to government figures.

The chairwoman of the independent council advising government on redress, Cheryl Edwardes, said the decision of NSW and Victoria would be welcomed by abuse survivors.

“Having New South Wales and Victoria, the two largest states in terms of people covered, on board will encourage the other states and non-government institutions to commit to the national scheme,” Edwardes said. “We need a national scheme that covers as many survivors of institutional abuse as possible while acknowledging that each individual’s impact was different.”

The redress scheme was a key recommendation of the child abuse royal commission, designed as a simple, accessible way for survivors to access compensation. It is designed to further their process of healing, including by providing access to counselling, and requiring institutions to provide a direct response to survivors if they request it.



But the federal government’s model, which is still before parliament, differs in several key respects from the royal commission’s detailed recommendations.

The proposed legislation will cap payments at $150,000, rather than the $200,000 cap, $65,000 average and $10,000 minimum recommended by the royal commission.

It could exclude survivors of offshore detention and would block those convicted of serious criminal offences, which could exclude a significant proportion of survivors.

The Coalition has argued the restriction is required to protect the integrity of the scheme, although has indicated it may rethink it.

The inclusion of NSW and Victoria prompted Malcolm Turnbull to urge other states to follow their lead.

“We owe it to the survivors for their courage in telling stories they have been too afraid to speak of, often for decades,” Turnbull said. “Now that those stories have been told, now that they are on the record, we must do everything within our power to honour those stories and to act and to make sure that this national tragedy is never repeated.”

The government says the announcement makes it possible for churches, charities and other institutions in the two states to join the scheme.

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said the announcement was “vital to acknowledging the suffering of survivors of abuse and supporting them on their journey to recovery”.

“It’s unacceptable so many children were sexually abused in an environment where they were entitled to feel safe,” Berejiklian said. “Redress is an important part of recognising the lifelong impact of child abuse on survivors, many of whom carry the scars decades after the abuse occurred.”

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said redress would not erase the harm done to survivors. But it could finally give survivors the acknowledgement and dignity they “have long fought for and deserve”, he said.

“Victoria wants to ensure that survivors are respected, that their pain and suffering is recognised, and that they get the support they need,” Andrews said.

On Wednesday, Labor urged the government to quickly get the states and territories into the scheme. The shadow social services minister, Jenny Macklin, said the royal commission first recommended a redress scheme in 2015.

It had taken until March 2018 and states and institutions were yet to sign on, she said.

Labor also called for the compensation cap to be lifted to $200,000.

“We don’t want to see survivors of child sexual abuse short-changed,” she said, in a joint statement with Mark Dreyfus, the shadow attorney-general. “For too long survivors of institutional child sexual abuse weren’t believed. For too long they’ve waited for justice.

“They shouldn’t be made to wait any longer for redress.”