Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher recently announced that 27 of 35 dioceses are participating institutions in the Scheme, the next step in a months-long process to have Catholic dioceses ready to respond to applications for redress.
“I’m grateful that Minister Fletcher and his Department were willing to work closely with our new company, Australian Catholic Redress Ltd, to reach this milestone,” Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC) President Archbishop Mark Coleridge said.
“With more than 5,000 Catholic sites eventually to fall under Australian Catholic Redress Ltd’s purview, this was a longer and more complex process than we or even the Department expected.
“We are aware that many redress claims relating to dioceses have already been lodged, so our priority will be to act swiftly to respond to them.”
Archbishop Coleridge said the ACBC had called for an independent national redress scheme for some years. With the scheme now in place, he expects the remaining dioceses will be participating in the National Redress Scheme within weeks.
Paul Fletcher, Federal Minister for Families and Social Services, spoke to ABC radio, announcing that a report to be published next year will reveal the names of organisations that have not signed up for the scheme. “This”, he said, “will provide transparency for survivors”.
The list of dioceses that have currently signed up can be viewed here.
