Child sex abuse victims have been given a historic national apology but now they want action.

"I believe you, we believe you, your country believes you," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told parliament on Monday.

He then read the official apology to survivors and their families, who gathered in Parliament's Great Hall with a mix of sadness, anger and relief.

Rick Venero was abused at a Marist Brothers school in Sydney, and he now wants action taken against institutions who protected pedophiles.

"The biggest concern for me now is the continued funding of these institutions that are obstructionist," he says.

"We're talking about institutions which have destroyed records. They're criminal offences. Why have there been no charges?

"The hierarchy that kept moving these pedophiles around, why haven't they been charged?"

Michael Delaney was 16 when he suffered abuse at a youth training centre, and he tearfully watched Mr Morrison make the official apology.

"There's no amount of anything they can do to take the pain away," he said in Melbourne.

Mr Delaney welcomed the government's statement but said "the real people who should be saying sorry are the ones who were in charge at the time".

Cairns woman Amanda Bowers wants sanctions for institutions that don't sign up to the national redress scheme.

"Today was the first step, and it sounds like progress is on its way. But this is just the beginning," Ms Bowers told AAP.

She is still waiting for her former religious community, Jehovah's Witnesses, to sign up.

"Give institutions an ultimatum: If they don't sign up, they get a hefty fine or lose their charity status," Ms Bowers said.

The child abuse royal commission heard from 17,000 survivors and made 122 recommendations to the government.

To date, the government has rolled out a national redress scheme, with a new office of child safety to report to the prime minister.

Mr Morrison also announced a National Centre for Excellence to raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of child sexual abuse, and a national museum.

"We can never promise a world where there are no abusers. But we can promise a country where we commit to hear and believe our children," Mr Morrison said.