For an application for redress to be approved, there needs to be a “reasonable likelihood” that:

• the applicant was sexually abused
  • when they were a child
  • before 1 July 2018
  • the abuse was of a kind assessed as having a monetary value under the National Redress Scheme Assessment Framework
• the abuse relates to one or more institutions that are signatories to/participants of the National Redress Scheme
• the applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

The National Redress Scheme will consider all relevant information available, including:

• the information contained in the application form
• any documentation an applicant provides in support of their application, for example, written testimony to past schemes or inquiries, including the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
• the information relevant participating institution/s provide in response to a Request for Information from the national redress scheme, including any supporting documentation
• any other information available including information held by the National Redress Scheme (for example, where the scheme has built up a picture of relevant information about the same institution during the relevant period, or the same abuser).Towards Healing attempts to address abuse committed by Catholic Church personnel (clerics, religious and laity). Towards Healing deals with the following forms of abuse:
  • sexual assault, sexual harassment or any other conduct of a sexual nature that is inconsistent with the integrity of the relationship between church personnel and those in pastoral care
  • intentional acts by a person with responsibility for a child or young person causing significant physical injury, or other behaviour that causes serious physical pain or mental anguish without any legitimate disciplinary purpose as judged by the standards of the time when the behaviour occurred.

• Betrayal of trust:
  Towards Healing deals with particular kinds of breaches of trust in pastoral relationships. It is a gross betrayal of trust for people in positions of pastoral responsibility to use that relationship for sexual exploitation.

  Abuse of power:
  The abuse of power is most obvious when an adult sexually exploits or maltreats a child. Children cannot give a meaningful consent to sexual relations, and they are vulnerable to abuse by those entrusted with their care.

  Towards Healing is concerned with both child sexual abuse and the sexual exploitation of adults in the context of a pastoral relationship. Adult parishioners may in law have given a valid consent to sexual activity with a cleric, religious or other church personnel in pastoral relationships.  However, such relationships should never be sexualised. It is the professional responsibility of clergy and religious and others in “helping professions” to guard the boundary against sexual contact.

  Differentiating abuse from historically accepted conduct:
  Towards Healing does not deal only with sexual abuse. It also deals with complaints of physical or emotional abuse. Most of the complaints about physical and emotional abuse have arisen from institutional settings in which children were cared for or educated many years ago. Many of the practices and standards of care that were deemed acceptable or adequate a generation ago would not be so regarded today. Harsh discipline and meagre resources compounded the problems in institutional care. Deciding whether conduct was abusive requires an understanding of what were acceptable child-rearing practices at the time.

  The definition of abuse in Towards Healing seeks to differentiate child-rearing practices acceptable at the time, from cruel behaviour. The definition of physical and emotional abuse states a person with responsibility for a child or young person must have committed the acts, and either:

  ·         intentionally caused significant physical injury

  ·         caused serious physical pain or mental anguish without any legitimate disciplinary purpose as judged by the standards of the time when the behaviour occurred.