Payments for sexual abuse survivors won’t impact aged care fees

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has confirmed that aged care participants receiving payments through the National Redress Scheme for people who have experienced institutional child sexual abuse will not have to pay more for their aged care services.

Key points

• The National Redress Scheme commenced on 1 July 2018, in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
• The Scheme was designed to hold institutions accountable for the abuse while helping people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse gain access to counselling, a direct personal response, and a redress payment
• Redress payments are already exempt from income tests relevant to Federal Government payments such as the Disability Support Pension and Aged Pension

From January 1 2025, a survivor’s redress payment will be exempt from means testing and not be considered an asset for the residential aged care subsidy.

The decision comes after three years of lobbying by the National Aged and Community Care Roundtable for Forgotten Australians (the Roundtable).

Minister Rishworth said this change ensures survivors are not financially disadvantaged when accessing aged care services.

“The National Redress Scheme is in place to provide best possible outcomes for survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, including removing unintended adverse impacts of any payment they receive as part of redress,” Minister Rishworth said.

“Payments received under the Scheme are already not assessed as income for the purposes of social security or aged care means testing, however if the payment is saved or used to buy other assets, it may be included in the asset test like all other assets.

“We’re making this change to remove payments from any aged care means test to ensure survivors are not financially disadvantaged when the time comes for them to access aged care services.”

The Scheme has received over 50,000 applications since it launched in 2018 and is scheduled to keep accepting applications until June 30, 2027.

Payments are determined on an individual basis, ranging from less than $10,000 through to $150,000. 

Over 450 aged care facilities and service providers are part of the Scheme to support survivors and applicants. 

While the payment can be included as part of the assets test for some Federal Government payments, Minister Rishworth said disclosing payments when moving into residential aged care could be re-traumatising.

“It does really cause a lot of problems because when someone goes into another institution if they’ve been abused previously in an institution, it can be a very difficult time to resettle in a new institution,” Ms Rishworth told ABC News. 

Chair of the Roundtable Anne Livingstone said this is a significant decision for many individuals who have experienced enormous stress and disadvantage when receiving redress payments and entering or being in residential care. 

“These payments should never have been considered as an asset in the aged care means testing regime and this important announcement addresses the unjust financial treatment of these payments,” she said.

“Over the past three years the National Aged and Community Care Roundtable for Forgotten Australians has spoken to many disadvantaged individuals and collected case stories detailing the extreme stress and concerns that this treatment of Redress payments in the aged care system has caused.”

The Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells said the improvements to the National Redress Scheme are in-line with proposed aged care reforms under the new Aged Care Act, highlighting the Government’s commitment to the rights of older Australians.

“In addition to this important change, all older people, including survivors of child sexual abuse, will have a right to access trauma-aware and healing-informed aged care services under our new Aged Care Bill currently before Parliament,” the Minister said.

Exemptions for the payments will be made through data matching, meaning survivors won’t have to relive their trauma by disclosing the abuse again.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) | 1800respect.org.au

National Redress Scheme | 1800 737 377

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service | 1800 211 028