National Redress Scheme Closure - Where does this leave survivors?
National Redress Scheme
The National Redress Scheme (‘NRS’, ‘the scheme’) was established in response to the finding of, and recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (‘Royal Commission’). The Royal Commission investigated institutional handling of allegations of child sexual abuse across Australia, and in doing so heard from thousands of survivors and institutional witnesses.
The NRS was established on 1 July 2018, and under the scheme, survivors of childhood sexual abuse in participating institutions may be eligible for a one-off compensation payment of up to $150,000. Since its commencement, the scheme has made redress payments to over 27,000 survivors, and has provided an avenue for redress to survivors who might otherwise be unable to seek justice through alternative means.
Closure of the NRS
Notwithstanding its positive reception by claimants, the NRS has been scheduled to be wound down next year, with applications to be accepted until 30 June 2027. The NRS will then have 12 months to finalise those outstanding applications before it is officially closed on 30 June 2028. With its closure date looming, the scheme intends to ramp up communication efforts and actions to engage potential applicants prior to the final closure date.
A recent parliamentary inquiry has called for the NRS to be extended beyond its legislated 30 June 2028 closure date. Advocates have recommended that applications be accepted until December 2027, with full closure of the scheme not to be effected until all applications are processed. The federal government is currently awaiting the findings of the legislated review of the scheme which will be handed down in November.
Post NRS Closure
In addition to its direct impacts upon survivors, the scheme’s twilight will undoubtably impact participating institutions, courts, and the legal system and advocates operating in the child abuse space, though to what extent remains to be tested.
In contrast to an NRS application, survivors of institutional child abuse are generally entitled to compensation at common law where they meet certain criteria. There is currently no compensation cap that applies to a common law compensation payment, as compared to an NRS payment which is limited to a maximum of $150,000. In circumstances where claimants have available to them either a common law claim or an application for redress under the NRS, it follows that participating institutions have to some extent limited financial liability for claims by virtue of their participation under scheme, as compared to the costs of defending a common law claim, and any unrestricted compensation payments made thereunder. Upon the scheme’s closure, institutions will be required to respond to claims in the uncapped jurisdiction, which will inevitably call into question whether and for how long institutions will be able to sustain and actively meet any agreed compensation payments.
Further, for the duration of the NRS’s operation, the scheme has borne some responsibility for diverting claims from the courts, and upon its closure those claimants who otherwise may have elected to engage with the NRS scheme, will have scarce alternative avenue than a common law claim. Common law compensation claims often involve extensive investigations, issuing proceedings in court, and can take years from commencement to resolution. In Victoria alone, courts are overwhelmed with institutional liability proceedings. The Supreme Court of Victoria’s Institutional Liability List, which handles all institutional child abuse litigation in the Victorian Supreme Court, is currently the second largest and one of the fastest growing lists of the court’s Common Law Division. It is likely that the NRS closure will result in a tangible uptick in common law litigation in the institutional abuse space, and with it, increased strain upon our already inundated judicial system.
Whilst the scheme importantly offers choice to survivors who may not be able to cope with the rigours of a court process, it has also meant that many survivors who would have been entitled to higher compensation amounts in a common law process have instead accepted a binding settlement through the NRS for comparatively little money. The current hard closure of the scheme by 30 June 2028 means that any claimant who has thus far been able to defer an NRS offer whilst pursuing a common law claim in order to keep their options open, will now be forced to make a difficult decision to either abandon their NRS offer and continue with a sometimes speculative common law claim, or accept an NRS offer and forfeit a potentially more lucrative damages claim.
Although the NRS was never intended to operate in perpetuity, its closure does beg whether the recommendations of the Royal Commission which instigated the scheme have been satisfactorily met, and what more work could yet be done. Angela Sdrinis Legal calls upon the Federal Government to accept the Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation to extend the scheme until all outstanding NRS claims have been resolved.
Accepting an offer of redress under the NRS may finalise your right to bring a common law claim for compensation arising from childhood institutional abuse. Angela Sdrinis Legal DOES NOT recommend the NRS and strongly recommends that any applicant to the NRS obtain legal advice regarding the viability of a common law claim for damages before accepting any offer made under the scheme.
Nikola Henkul, Associate
20 October 2026