The Guides to Social Policy Law is a collection of publications designed to assist decision makers administering social policy law. The information contained in this publication is intended only as a guide to relevant legislation/policy. The information is accurate as at the date listed at the bottom of the page, but may be subject to change. To discuss individual circumstances please contact Services Australia.

3.2 When is a person eligible for redress?

Summary

For an application for redress to be approved, the Operator must consider there is a reasonable likelihood a person is eligible. A person will meet the Scheme's eligibility requirements where there is a reasonable likelihood that:

  • the person was sexually abused
  • the sexual abuse is within the scope of the Scheme
  • the sexual abuse is of a kind for which the maximum amount of redress payment that could be payable to the person would be more than nil (i.e. that was within a type of abuse under the Assessment Framework)
  • one or more participating institutions are responsible for the abuse, and
  • the person is an Australian citizen or a permanent resident, or a certain child migrant under section 4B of the NRS Rules.

Abuse is within scope of the Scheme if it occurred:

  • when the person was a child
  • inside a participating State, inside a Territory, or outside of Australia, and
  • it occurred before the Scheme start day (1 July 2018).

Despite what is described above, sexual abuse of a person by another child is not within the scope of the Scheme if the abuse did not involve physical contact with or penetration of the person.

Act reference: NRSAct Part 2-2 Division 2 Entitlement to redress under the scheme

NRS Rules section 4B Eligibility of certain child migrants from the United Kingdom and Malta

Last reviewed: