About redress payments

Redress payments will be:

• non-taxable,
• exempt from Commonwealth debt recovery,
• exempt from income tests relevant to Commonwealth Government payments, and;
• exempt from creditors where a person is bankrupt.

Any prior payments you received that were related to the abuse (sexual or physical), or harm caused by the abuse, will be deducted from your final redress payment. You are required to tell us about any prior payments you receive from an institution before you accept your redress offer.

• this includes payments made as a court awarded payment, through victims of crime, or from another redress scheme
• prior payments will be adjusted to today's value, using a formula, accounting for the number of full years since you received the payment to the date that the application was submitted to the Scheme
• if the institution made a payment to you for any medical, dental, legal or other expenses, the payment will not be considered and will not be deducted from your redress payment.

If you received a prior payment, please attach any documents, such as a settlement or deed you have signed, to your application. We need these documents to understand why the payment was made and that you did agree to accept the payment from the institution. We will contact you if an institution tells us a payment was made to you.

A redress payment can be included as part of the assets test for Commonwealth Government payments.

How can I receive my payment? 

When you accept the offer of a redress payment, you will also be asked to complete a ‘Redress Payment Choice form’ that is sent with your offer letter. You will be asked to provide details of a bank account in your name. You can choose to be paid your redress payment to your nominated bank account either as:

• a single lump sum,
• by instalments, or
• a combination of both - an upfront lump sum, with the remainder paid by instalments.

Note: If you are under a Financial Administrative Order appointed by a court, please tell us so that redress payment can be made to the financial administrator.

It is recommended that you get free and confidential legal advice from knowmore before signing the acceptance document. This service will help you understand the options available to you. You can contact knowmore on 1800 605 762 or by visiting the knowmore website(Opens in a new tab/window).