UCA Redress National Director Sarah Lim gives an update on the scheme at an Assembly meeting in Sydney.
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By Andrew Humphries
In her role as UCA Redress National Director, Sarah Lim hears first-hand the accounts of people whose lives have been impacted by sexual abuse suffered as a child.
Those accounts are a constant reminder for Sarah of the importance of UCA Redress in offering a pathway towards justice and recognition for those who suffered while in the care of Uniting Church agencies or organisations.
UCA Redress was established in 2018 when the Uniting Church committed to joining the National Redress Scheme, born after recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2017.
Sarah says that following the Royal Commission, the UCA recognised quickly the role it needed to play in both acknowledging its part, and those of its predecessor Churches, in the abuse that had taken place, and the steps needed to ensure victims were heard with compassion.
“One of the commitments given by the Church at the conclusion of the Royal Commission was that it would not let the way the Church organises itself get in the way of doing things consistently and well around this issue of addressing child sexual abuse,” Sarah says.
“One area that crystallised quite quickly around that was how we could participate in the Government-run redress scheme.
“Because of all of the different legal structures and governance arrangements across the Church, UCA Redress was formed through agreement from all standing committees, including the Assembly, as a separate company to be the interface between the Church and the National Redress Scheme.”
Administered by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services, the scheme holds institutions accountable for the sexual abuse that took place under their care, and helps people who experienced abuse gain access to counselling, a direct personal response, and a redress payment.
Sarah says the National Redress Scheme is the first port of call for those seeking redress, with the applicant detailing what had occurred, when it occurred and within which organisation.
From there, the Government sends a request for information (RFI) to the organisation concerned, asking it for any relevant information relating to the application.
If the application involves the Uniting Church, or one of its predecessor Churches, it is then sent to Sarah and her team at UCA Redress, who make contact with the relevant Synod or Assembly for additional information.
“The sorts of questions the scheme asks are whether it has records that show the applicant attended the service or site, whether the alleged perpetrator was in and around the site at that time, and whether he or she had been the subject of other allegations,” Sarah says.
“It’s quite a factual process. Sometimes the institution has really good records, but sometimes there will be no records at all.
“Neither of those things necessarily mean an application will or won’t get an outcome. The scheme looks at it all quite holistically.
“Once sent back to the National Redress Scheme, it’s considered by an Independent Decision Maker, contracted by the Commonwealth to apply the relevant legislation, determine eligibility, determine the amount of the redress to be offered, and also determine the apportionment between institutions.”
Team members at UCA Redress are always conscious of the deep emotional impact of the process on applicants, says Sarah Lim.
Sarah says since its inception UCA Redress had received 1420 RFIs from applicants up until June 30 last year.
Of those, 1021 requests had been resolved, with 666 offers of redress accepted.
Sarah says the team at UCA Redress, and the redress contacts in Synods, are always conscious of the deep emotional impact of the process on redress applicants.
“We are always very conscious of working in a trauma-informed way, and across the Church we try not to contribute to any delay in the process,” she says.
“We really prioritise the processing of the applications, being mindful that our response is a respectful one.
“All of those things align with Uniting Church values anyway, but we really take into account the fact that these are deeply traumatised people and we don’t ever want to add to that trauma.”
If a person accepts an offer of redress, they also have the choice of receiving an apology from the Church.
“Once someone contacts us and indicates they are ready to go through the apology process, it becomes very much a survivor-led process,” Sarah says.
In her role as National Director, Sarah emphasises the fact that the Church should never be complacent around safeguarding the rights of children and other vulnerable people.
“Every redress application is a reminder that we need to be ever vigilant in the space of safeguarding across the life of the Church,” she says.
“Applicants consistently say ‘I want to make sure what happened to me doesn’t happen to another child’.”
With applications to the National Redress Scheme scheduled to close on June 30, 2027, Sarah says it’s important the wider community is aware of the closing date and the process involved in lodging an application.
Further details are available on the National Redress Scheme website here
Rev Charissa Suli says the Uniting Church is committed to addressing historical child sexual abuse.
UCA committed to child safety
On October 22, 2018, Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered an historic National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
Each year, the Uniting Church in Australia marks the anniversary of that apology, acknowledging and lamenting the role it, and its predecessor Churches, played in causing harm to children.
It is fully committed to growing a culture of safety across the whole Church and creating communities where all people can flourish in safety and security.
In a statement on October 22 last year marking the seventh anniversary of the national apology, President Rev Charissa Suli pledged the Church’s ongoing commitment to addressing historical child sexual abuse.
“My heart turns to the voices of survivors and their courage continues to shape us,” Charissa said.
“Their pain and truth remind us that while important steps have been taken, there is still such a long way to go.
“As a Church we remain committed to righting the wrongs of the past and to learning from every survivor who comes forward.
“Ten years have passed since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse reported on redress and civil litigation.
“Its call still resounds.
“We continue to participate proactively in the National Redress Scheme.
“Each application is a sacred moment of truth-telling and learning, and we thank every person who chooses to come forward and share their story.”
Charissa said safeguarding children was not a task that was ever ‘finished’ but was a “lifelong journey of vigilance, learning and improvement as we embed a culture of safeguarding”.
“Across the Church, in our schools, agencies and congregations, we are working to strengthen training for staff and volunteers, to ensure safe recruitment, to make clear and accessible pathways for children and community members to raise their voices when something is wrong, and to respond with care and justice when harm occurs,” she said.
“Those who raise concerns in good faith will always be supported, and we will always act to protect children.
“While we may never be able to remove every risk, we can commit ourselves each day to doing all that we can to make our communities places of safety, care and trust for children and young people.
“This is our sacred responsibility, our unshakeable commitment, and part of the ‘Threads of Love’ we are called to weave across our Church.”
In Victoria and Tasmania, Safe Church provides resources for congregations, faith communities and other agencies to make them as safe as possible for children.
These resources are available here
