Anglican Church, Salvos and others join National Redress Scheme

Following the news that the Catholic Church had become the first non-government organisation to sign up to the National Redress Scheme on Wednesday, several other national institutions have now followed suit and entered the scheme.

It was announced today that the Anglican Church, Scouts, YMCA and Salvation Army have all joined the scheme, which was established to provide support to people who were sexually abused as children while in the care of an institution.

The Catholic Church is estimated to be liable for around $1 billion in compensation, and Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher said the church expected to be paying out survivors for “many years to come”.

He told the ABC: “We’re going to back that with our insurance and our assets.

“We’re determined to bring justice and full redress – healing, if we can – to the victims of this terrible crime.”

Less than 24 hours later the Salvation Army, Anglican Church, Scouts and YMCA all revealed that they too were joining the scheme.

Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier said the Anglican Church had been shocked and dismayed by its failures to protect children and respond to survivors of child sexual abuse.

He said: “These failures are evidenced in the public inquiries of the Royal Commission and the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry, which reported in 2013.

“The Anglican Church – and I personally – have apologised for our failures to survivors of child sexual abuse. We have been working continuously for well over a decade to improve our response to survivors and our approach to redress, and are grateful for the work of the Victorian Inquiry and the Royal Commission.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also welcomed the news and said that we “must confront the truth that has been revealed” as part of the healing process.

He said: “Redress will be made to children who deserved to be safe, but whose lives were shockingly impacted by sexual abuse.

“The governments and institutions that sign up accept the system failed every single person in Australia who suffered sexual abuse in an institution that was meant to protect them.”

The National Redress Scheme was set up following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which heard evidence from more than 8,000 people in private sessions, as well as receiving more than 25,000 letters and over 42,000 calls.

The scheme is expected to start on 1 July 2018, subject to it passing the Senate, and will run for 10 years.

Legislation to allow the opt-in scheme passed Federal Parliament’s Lower House on Tuesday night, however there are still organisations that have not yet signed up and pledged their support.

Lawyers for abuse survivors, Maurice Blackburn, are now calling for institutions that choose not to opt in to the National Redress Scheme to lose their charity tax deductibility status as a result.

Maurice Blackburn Abuse Law Principal Michelle James said: “Today’s announcement is a call to action for other relevant institutions to also join the redress scheme and for governments at both the state and federal level to exercise any relevant powers necessary to force institutions’ hands if they fail to do so.
 
“Specifically that must include being prepared to strip the charity tax deductibility status of any institutions that stonewall on joining the national redress scheme.
 
“Many of these charitable institutions were singled out by the Royal Commission for failing to protect children in their care, yet they continue to benefit from generous tax concessions. Those institutions need to be given a clear message from state and federal governments.”

What do you think? Should these institutions be penalised if they do not opt in to the National Redress Scheme?