00:02For survivors of child sexual abuse, redress and acknowledgement can be life-changing.
00:07I got a call and I was informed about the successful outcome and I just wept.
00:15It sounds a bit trite to say it's changed my life but for me the money component as well, it
00:21allowed me to go to law school.
00:23The investigation that follows a redress application can be really long and very challenging
00:27and Chris Coombs describes those days as some of his darkest.
00:31But it's also something that he's really desperate for other survivors to be able to access.
00:36But at the moment the scheme faces a backlog of 30,000 actionable cases
00:40and so far this year has processed an average of 993 applications a month.
00:46That's an increase on the previous five months but not enough to clear the backlog
00:49by the time the scheme is scheduled to shut on July 1, 2028.
00:53At its current rate it won't clear the applications it already has
00:57until about six months after it's set to close.
01:00And over the next year the Department of Social Services anticipates on average
01:04a further 1,529 new cases a month leading up to the scheme's application deadline of July 1, 2027.
01:13Taking those into account if the scheme manages to maintain its current rate of processing
01:18it wouldn't get through all applications for another 48 months, double the time they've currently got.
01:24Victim survivor support services like NoMore are calling on the Federal Government to extend the scheme
01:29and politicians are backing them in.
01:31I think of all of those vulnerable survivors, many of them have finally worked up the courage
01:36and found the space, found the moment in their lives where they can come and speak about their abuse,
01:42they're going to be knocking on a shut door and we cannot let that happen.
01:45The Federal Government wouldn't confirm whether or not it plans to extend the operation of the NRS,
01:50but Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said we're not going to let victim survivors down.
01:55More independent decision makers are currently in the process of being hired for the scheme
01:59and its legislated eight year review is now underway.
02:02It's been tasked with providing advice to the Government on how to ensure all actionable applications can be processed in
02:08time.
02:09Give us a little bit of salt and salt and salt.
02:09Let's get started.
02:09a great time for another really long time.
02:10And I'll get started in my video with the beginning and it will be fine.
02:10Let's get started.
02:11It was a great year, but since we're getting started.
02:11It was a great year and we're not by the way we're not johnson and gill.
02:12You
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