news, politics

Institutions such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Presbyterian Church and the Disability Trust have not signed up to the national redress scheme, delaying compensation for child abuse survivors. While some institutions, such as the Brisbane Boys' College and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, have flagged their intention to join the scheme, others have not. The government has publicly named and shamed the groups singled out in the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that have not signed up to the redress scheme. There are expected to be more unnamed institutions where abuse occurred. Ten per cent of applications lodged by survivors - about 700 - have been put on hold because the organisations responsible for their abuse have not joined. "It is a lot but some of those are in the process of signing up," Social Services Minister Anne Ruston told ABC radio on Tuesday. Institutions have until June 30 to join the redress scheme, which was launched two years ago. While some organisations responsible for abuse no longer exist, others claim they do not have the financial capacity to compensate their victims. The Australian Olympic Committee has warned the redress scheme could push sports bodies to financial ruin. Football NSW, Swimming Australia and Tennis NSW were all named in the royal commission, but have not told the government they intend to join the scheme. Senator Ruston will meet with the AOC next week. She is considering stripping the charitable status and tax concessions given to organisations who refuse to join the scheme. "We will be looking at every option that we have to make sure that an organisation that we believe should be signed up is signed up," she said. "And if that means that we have to take a big stick approach to it, that's what we'll be doing." Senator Ruston is also looking to speed up the assessment of compensation claims. "Many of them are much more complex than we ever imagined." Pressuring institutions to join the redress scheme is one of 29 recommendations made to the government by a parliamentary committee which looked at the progress of the response to the The scheme has been tougher for the federal government to implement than expected, with the government's response to the committee's report flagging new laws. "Remedying the disparities between the scheme and the recommendations to the royal commission will require substantive legislative change or changes to key policy," the response says. The committee also wants to look at whether state and territory responses for abuse survivors are adequate. The government says it's a matter for parliament. Due to the legislative changes required, the government also noted recommendations relating to allowing non-citizens access to redress, as well as those who are in jail. The government has accepted a recommendation to publish average application processing times on the scheme's website. Australian Associated Press

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/76ed2f36-0670-44b9-96ef-777c468dc9a5.jpg/r0_74_800_526_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg