Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party wants the state government to lobby federal colleagues to remove deeds of release from National Redress Scheme (NRS) financial settlements for child sexual abuse survivors.
A deed of release is a clause that prevents a survivor from suing an institution at a later time and is included in all redress settlements. In other words, those survivors who access NRS payments cannot later sue the institution held liable for abuse that occurred.
Deeds were used routinely in the infamous ‘Melbourne Response’ run by then-Archbishop George Pell in 1996 to prevent civil lawsuits against the Catholic Church where survivors would have been entitled to greater compensation. The average pay-out from the Melbourne Response was $31,000.
knowmore – an independent legal service providing advice to child sexual abuse survivors – suggests that the average payment is around $80,000[1], but DHJP has heard many stories of harrowing abuse that have been deemed worth just $5000 and $10,000.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse did not provide detailed reasons about why deeds of release were necessary for the NRS.
It is thought this recommendation was aimed at reducing civil caseloads. But survivor and advocacy groups had lobbied for deeds never to be included.
Survivors who have first sued the institution liable for abuse can then access the NRS, but they generally need to pay back their NRS payment.
Similarly, in Victoria, if victims of crime access Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal payments, they can then sue the perpetrator or institution, but they need to repay the VOCAT money to the state government.
Just last week, the state government announced a redress scheme for firefighters suffering contamination from their work at Fiskville fire training college without requiring a claimant to sign a deed of release.
Glastonbury-Geelong Protestant Orphanage survivor Judith Leonard was physically and mentally assaulted as a ward of the state. She received redress for sexual assault but has been unable to claim it for her other injuries because of the current scope of the NRS. She signed a deed of release so she is unable to sue the state government in the future.
In Question Time in the Legislative Council today, Mr Grimley will ask the Attorney-General to make representations to federal Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth to push for the urgent change.
Comments by Stuart Grimley MP –
“The National Redress Scheme is like George Pell’s infamous ‘Melbourne Response’ all over again.
“We crucified Pell for silencing victims by preventing them from taking legal action in future, yet the federal government is doing the same thing by asking survivors to sign deeds of release.
“A deed of release is a document signed by a survivor that bars them from suing that same institution for that abuse again in the future.
“The National Redress Scheme was never perfect, but it is never too late to fix it. A new federal government is a good a time to fix this issue.
“I look forward to the Attorney’s response in Question Time today and hope she will commit to lobbying the new federal Social Services Minister.”
Comments by Tania Maxwell MP –
“In Victoria, if you access the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal as a victim of crime, you can sue the perpetrator or institution later.
“If you win your case, you are required to repay the VOCAT money. The same type of scheme could be adopted in place of what the National Redress Scheme is currently doing.
“This issue applies to everyone who has received redress who has not also had their day in court and who may decide to take action at some point in the future.
“Judith has shown incredible bravery in speaking about her experience and she shows why we need to change the redress scheme.
“Not everyone will be able to afford lawyers or even want to go through the arduous court process, but those who do shouldn’t be barred from doing so.”
[1] https://knowmore.org.au/redress-and-compensation/redress-scheme/#:~:text=What%20does%20the%20National%20Redress,redress%20payment%20is%20around%20%2480%2C000)
