If you apply to the Scheme and receive an offer of redress, a direct personal response will generally be offered for each institution found responsible. To accept all components of your redress offer, you just need to sign and date your acceptance document.
When you sign and date your acceptance document, you will be accepting a direct personal response from all institutions found responsible.
It is always your choice to receive a direct personal response from the institution. Even if you accept the offer of a direct personal response, you can pause or cancel the process at any time.
You can choose not to accept the offer of a direct personal response from any institution, or just from particular institutions. However, if you choose not to accept a direct personal response from one or more institutions, and you later change your mind, please call the Direct Personal Response (DPR) Information and Support service on 1800 737 377 Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm to discuss your options.
Contacting the institution/s
If you accept the offer of a direct personal response, you will receive the details for the contact person who is trained to facilitate and arrange your direct personal response from the responsible institution/s. If you are not able to make contact, please call us.
When you are ready, you will need to contact this person to start arranging your direct personal response. The process to start your direct personal response can begin any time before the end of the Scheme on 30 June 2028. You can pause or cancel the process at any time.
If you would like support contacting the institution, you can ask someone you trust to help you. You can:
- speak to a support person, such as a friend, family member, counsellor
- talk to a Redress Support Service to help you decide
- contact the Scheme’s DPR Information and Support service by calling us on 1800 737 377 Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm, and asking to talk to the DPR Information and Support service.
The institution will need to ensure that the person contacting them has your permission to do so. You may have to provide something or be present in this first contact. This is to state your consent for them to talk to the institution on your behalf about your direct personal response.
Arranging the direct personal response
After contact has been made with the institution/s, you and/or your support person will discuss how your direct personal response can be arranged and what you would like it to include. It will also provide the opportunity to let the institution know if you have any specific needs or considerations throughout this process.
Depending on your needs and what the institution is able to provide, arranging your direct personal response may take some time.
The institution responsible for your direct personal response must pay for reasonable costs involved in the direct personal response.
Delaying or stopping a direct personal response
Participating in a direct personal response is entirely your choice.
If you have started arranging your direct personal response but then change your mind or need more time to consider what you want, you can ask your contact person at the institution to delay the process or stop it altogether. The Direct Personal Response Information and Support team can also help with this.
The process to start your direct personal response can begin any time before the end of the Scheme on 30 June 2028. You can pause or cancel the process at any time.
DPR Information and support service
The Scheme's Direct Personal Response (DPR) Information and Support service can help you to contact the institution or connect you with a Redress Support Service to support you with your DPR.
Contact us on 1800 737 377 Mon to Fri 8am to 5pm, and ask to speak to the DPR Information and Support team to talk to someone about your direct personal response.
If you need immediate support, 24-hour telephone assistance is available through:
- beyondblue(Opens in a new tab/window): 1300 224 636
- 1800RESPECT(Opens in a new tab/window): 1800 737 732
- MensLine Australia(Opens in a new tab/window): 1300 789 978
- Lifeline(Opens in a new tab/window): 13 11 14
- Suicide Call Back Service(Opens in a new tab/window): 1300 659 467
- 13YARN(Opens in a new tab/window): 139 276
- In an emergency call Triple Zero (000(Opens in a new tab/window))
Everything that occurs in a direct personal response must remain confidential, unless:
- all participants agree, or
- information is raised that suggests a threat to someone’s health and safety.
If any information relating to a direct personal response needs to be disclosed by the institution, this must be agreed upon with you first.