National Redress Scheme: closing 30 June 2027
52 weeks, 52 reasons to get independent legal advice first
The National Redress Scheme closes for new applications on 30 June 2027. Each week until then, we publish one truth that survivors need to understand before making any decision about the Scheme.
This page is for survivors who have heard about the National Redress Scheme and want to understand what it actually means for them, not what the Scheme’s promotional materials say about it.
Before you apply: four things every survivor must know
These are not opinions. They are the facts that most survivors are not told before they sign.
- Accepting a National Redress Scheme payment permanently extinguishes your right to bring a civil claim. This cannot be undone. Once you sign, the right to pursue full compensation through the courts is gone.
- The maximum National Redress Scheme payment is $150,000. Most payments are far lower. The average for serious abuse is approximately $80,000. Koffels has seen payments as low as $7,000. Civil compensation through the courts has no cap, assessed on the actual harm you have suffered to your health, career, relationships, and quality of life.
- The Scheme’s contract was drafted by institutional experts. You are being asked to sign a sophisticated legal agreement prepared on behalf of the institutions that harmed you, typically without being offered independent legal advice beforehand.
- For most survivors with a viable civil claim, the Scheme operates more to the benefit of the institution than to you. That is not an accusation. It is what the structure of the Scheme produces in practice. The right legal advice can tell you which pathway is genuinely better for your circumstances.
Koffels Solicitors & Barristers offers a free, confidential initial consultation for survivors considering their options. There is no obligation. Contact us before making any decision about the National Redress Scheme.
Further reading: National Redress Scheme overview | NRS payments vs civil compensation: key comparisons | Institutional abuse compensation hub
Common questions about the National Redress Scheme deadline
When does the National Redress Scheme close?
Applications to the National Redress Scheme must be lodged by 30 June 2027. The Scheme itself then sunsets on 30 June 2028, after which outstanding applications and reviews are wound up. If you are considering applying, the time to seek independent legal advice is now, not in the months before the deadline, when demand for legal guidance is likely to be highest. See our article on what happens when the National Redress Scheme expires for more detail on the sunset process.
What is the average National Redress Scheme payment?
The average National Redress Scheme payment for serious abuse is approximately $80,000. The maximum payment under the Scheme is $150,000, but this is rarely achieved in practice. Some payments are significantly lower. Koffels has acted in cases where the payment offered was as low as $7,000. Importantly, these payments are assessed against a formula, not against the actual harm you suffered. Civil compensation through the courts is assessed differently: there is no cap, and the amount reflects your specific losses across health, career, relationships, and quality of life. For a direct comparison of NRS payments against civil outcomes, see our key insights and comparisons article.
What happens if I accept a National Redress Scheme payment?
Accepting a National Redress Scheme payment permanently extinguishes your right to bring a civil compensation claim against the institution responsible. This is not reversible. You cannot later decide the civil claim pathway was better and change course. This is the single most important fact for any survivor to understand before applying. The Scheme is a contract, drafted by institutional lawyers, and once signed, its terms are binding. Koffels strongly recommends independent legal advice before accepting any offer under the Scheme.
Can I get legal advice before applying to the National Redress Scheme?
Yes, and you should. Survivors are not routinely offered independent legal advice before signing a National Redress Scheme agreement, but there is nothing stopping you from seeking it. In fact, independent advice before any application is the most important step you can take. A lawyer who acts for survivors (not for the institutions or the Scheme) can assess whether a civil claim is viable for your circumstances, what you might realistically expect from both pathways, and whether applying to the Scheme is genuinely in your interest. Koffels offers a free, confidential initial consultation. Contact us here.
Is the National Redress Scheme the best option for survivors?
For most survivors with a viable civil claim, no. The National Redress Scheme was recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as one of several responses to institutional child sexual abuse, not as a replacement for civil justice. The Scheme offers capped, formula-based payments, does not require the institution to admit liability, does not produce findings of fact, and permanently removes your right to civil compensation once you accept. Civil claims through the courts are assessed on actual harm suffered, have no cap, and more than 90% settle confidentially before reaching a hearing. The right answer for any individual depends on their specific circumstances, which is precisely why independent legal advice before applying matters.
What is the difference between the National Redress Scheme and a civil claim?
The National Redress Scheme is a government-administered process with capped, formula-based payments (maximum $150,000), no requirement for the institution to admit wrongdoing, and no findings of fact. A civil compensation claim is pursued through the courts, is assessed on the actual harm you suffered, has no cap on what can be awarded, and can result in outcomes well in excess of $1 million in serious cases. Most civil claims settle before hearing and are subject to confidentiality agreements. Accepting a National Redress Scheme payment means you cannot bring a civil claim, ever. For a detailed breakdown, see NRS vs civil compensation: key insights and comparisons.
How long does a National Redress Scheme application take?
The average processing time for a National Redress Scheme application is approximately 12.5 months under the standard pathway and 13.4 months under the priority pathway. With the Scheme closing on 30 June 2027, applications lodged from mid-2026 onwards face a real risk of not being processed before the deadline. This is another reason why early independent legal advice matters, so you can make an informed decision about which pathway is right for you, with enough time to act on it. See five things you should know about the National Redress Scheme for more on processing times.
52 truths survivors deserve to know: one each week until 30 June 2027
Each week from 30 June 2026, we publish one fact about the National Redress Scheme that survivors need before making any decision. Facts are published newest first. Where an existing Koffels article covers the topic in depth, we link to it. These are signposts, not summaries.
This is not an argument against the National Redress Scheme for every survivor. It is an argument for informed decisions.
Average National Redress Scheme processing time: 12.5 months.
Time remaining before the Scheme closes: 38 weeks. Less than 9 months.
The processing time is longer than the time left to apply.
Applications lodged before 30 June 2027 will still be assessed – but the time to get independent legal advice and make an informed decision is now.
Free and confidential at Koffels. Link in bio.
Fact #38 – week of 6 October 2026
The average National Redress Scheme application takes 12.5 months to process under the standard pathway, and 13.4 months under the priority pathway. The Scheme closes 30 June 2027.
With 38 weeks remaining before the National Redress Scheme closes for new applications, the processing time figures are not abstract. An application lodged today under the standard pathway would, on average, not be determined until late 2027 – after the Scheme has closed to new applications. The priority pathway offers little relief, averaging 13.4 months. This does not mean late applications will necessarily go unprocessed – applications lodged before 30 June 2027 will continue to be assessed after that date. But it does mean the time to seek independent legal advice, understand your options, and make an informed decision is now, not in the months immediately before the deadline when demand for legal guidance will be highest.
Five things you should know about the National Redress Scheme | How the National Redress Scheme works
Fact #39 – week of 29 September 2026
A National Redress Scheme payment is counted as an asset, not income. The same applies to a civil compensation payout. For survivors on Centrelink, the size of that asset is what matters.
Neither a National Redress Scheme payment nor a civil compensation payout is treated as income for Centrelink purposes. Both are counted as assets. For survivors receiving age pension, disability support, or other means-tested Centrelink payments, any lump sum counted as an asset can affect entitlements depending on the amount and their existing asset position. The distinction between the two pathways is not whether the Centrelink asset test applies – it does in both cases – but what the lump sum actually amounts to. A civil compensation claim is uncapped and assessed on actual harm suffered, meaning the net asset after any Centrelink adjustment is likely to be substantially larger than an NRS payment in the same position. Independent legal advice can help you understand how both pathways affect your specific circumstances before you make any decision.
A review of the National Redress Scheme | NRS vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #40 – week of 22 September 2026
If you have previously received a Victims of Crime payment, it will be deducted from any National Redress Scheme offer you receive.
The National Redress Scheme uses a formula to calculate offers, and it counts prior payments received through state and territory Victims of Crime schemes against that figure. This means survivors who sought help through a Victims of Crime scheme – often years or decades before the National Redress Scheme existed – may find their NRS offer significantly reduced as a result. The same broad principle applies in civil compensation claims, where prior payments may be brought to account. But the critical difference is what you are deducting from. In a civil claim, the starting figure is uncapped and assessed on actual harm suffered – so even after a prior payment is accounted for, the net outcome can be substantially higher than an NRS offer. In the NRS, you are deducting from an already capped, formula-based number. Independent legal advice can help you understand how prior payments affect your position before you decide.
How the National Redress Scheme calculates payments | NRS vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #41 – week of 15 September 2026
The National Redress Scheme never officially says your abuse happened. Accepting a payment is not an acknowledgement that you were believed.
The Scheme is an administrative process, not a court. Nobody assesses the evidence and makes a formal determination about what occurred, who was responsible, or whether the institution failed in its duty of care. The payment a survivor receives does not mean the Scheme found the abuse happened. It means the institution chose to participate in a process that was specifically designed to avoid making that determination. For survivors for whom being believed matters – for whom having what happened formally acknowledged is as important as compensation – the Scheme does not deliver that. Civil litigation can. A court can find that abuse occurred. A settlement can include an admission. The Scheme produces neither.
National Redress Scheme overview | NRS vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #42 – week of 8 September 2026
Participating in the National Redress Scheme does not require an institution to admit liability or wrongdoing.
An institution can join the National Redress Scheme, make payments to survivors, and issue a direct personal response – all without ever admitting that the abuse occurred, that it was responsible, or that it failed in its duty of care. The Scheme was designed to allow institutions to participate without legal exposure from an admission. For survivors who want acknowledgement of what happened, and who was responsible, the Scheme does not deliver it. A civil compensation claim through the courts can produce findings of fact, admissions as part of a settlement, and judgments that place legal responsibility on the institution. The Scheme cannot.
National Redress Scheme overview | NRS vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #43 – week of 1 September 2026
The National Redress Scheme agreement is a sophisticated legal contract drafted on behalf of the institutions that caused the harm.
The Scheme is administered by the government, but the agreement a survivor signs was shaped by institutional interests. It was drafted by people with legal expertise, working within a framework that institutions agreed to participate in on terms they found acceptable. The survivor signing that agreement is typically not offered independent legal advice before doing so. They are being asked to enter a permanent, irrevocable legal arrangement, drafted by experts on the other side, often at one of the most difficult moments of their life. Independent legal advice exists precisely for this situation – to ensure the person signing understands what they are giving up, not just what they are receiving.
A review of the National Redress Scheme | Understand your options
Fact #44 – week of 25 August 2026
Once you accept a National Redress Scheme payment, the decision cannot be reopened, reviewed, or appealed.
There is no cooling-off period. There is no appeals process once an offer is accepted. The Scheme offers a 6-month window to consider an offer before it lapses, during which a survivor can seek advice, withdraw, and preserve their options. But once the offer is accepted and the agreement is signed, the decision is final. If circumstances change, if new information comes to light, if the amount turns out to be far less than a civil claim would have produced, there is no mechanism to revisit it. This is not a prominently disclosed feature of the Scheme. It is one of the most important facts a survivor needs to understand before signing anything.
A review of the National Redress Scheme | Understand your options
Fact #45 – week of 18 August 2026
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended a maximum payment of $200,000. The National Redress Scheme was enacted with a cap of $150,000.
The Royal Commission ran from 2013 to 2017 and heard from thousands of survivors. Its recommendation on redress was informed by that evidence. It recommended a maximum payment of $200,000 to reflect the serious and lasting harm institutional child sexual abuse causes. The National Redress Scheme, enacted in 2018, set the maximum at $150,000 – $50,000 less than the body that investigated the abuse recommended. The Scheme that was built is not the Scheme that was recommended. For survivors with viable civil claims, that gap is worth understanding before making any decision about the Scheme.
How the National Redress Scheme calculates payments | What happens when the National Redress Scheme expires
Fact #46 – week of 11 August 2026
The National Redress Scheme’s counselling payment is capped at $5,000. That is fewer than 20 sessions with a psychologist.
The Scheme offers three components: a monetary payment, a direct personal response from the institution, and access to counselling. The counselling component is capped at $5,000. At current rates for a registered psychologist, that covers approximately 15 to 18 sessions. For survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, who may have experienced trauma that has shaped decades of their life, fewer than 20 sessions is not a treatment pathway. It is a gesture. Civil compensation through the courts can include ongoing treatment costs as part of the damages assessment, with no cap on what can be claimed for future care needs. If counselling is likely to be a long-term requirement, that is a factor independent legal advice will help you understand before any decision about the Scheme.
How the National Redress Scheme calculates payments | Understand your options
Fact #47 – week of 4 August 2026
Under the National Redress Scheme, abuse that does not involve penetration is capped at $50,000 regardless of its severity or its consequences for the survivor.
This is the formula in practice. The Scheme divides abuse into categories, and the category determines the ceiling on what can be paid. Non-penetrative abuse – which includes serious physical and psychological harm that can affect a survivor for a lifetime – is capped at $50,000 under the Scheme’s own framework. The nature of the act, as the Scheme categorises it, matters more than what it actually did to you. A civil compensation claim through the courts does not work this way. The court assesses the actual harm suffered, including the psychological, physical, financial, and relational consequences over the course of a life. There is no category ceiling. There is no cap.
Five things you should know about the National Redress Scheme | NRS payments vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #48 – week of 28 July 2026
National Redress Scheme payments are not assessed on the harm you actually suffered. They are calculated using a formula.
This is the reason the figures in the previous three weeks look the way they do. The Scheme does not ask what your abuse cost you across your health, your career, your relationships, or your quality of life. It applies a tiered formula based on how it categorises the nature and severity of the abuse. Two survivors who experienced abuse of similar severity and suffered similar long-term consequences can receive very different payments depending on how the Scheme categorises their experience. Civil compensation through the courts works differently. A judge or negotiated settlement assesses your actual losses, in your specific circumstances, with no ceiling on what can be awarded. That is what independent legal advice helps you understand before you make any decision about the Scheme.
How the National Redress Scheme calculates payments | NRS payments vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #49 – week of 21 July 2026
Koffels has acted in National Redress Scheme cases where the payment offered was as low as $7,000.
The National Redress Scheme sets a maximum of $150,000 and promotes an average of approximately $80,000. But the formula that produces those figures can also produce numbers far lower. Koffels has seen cases where survivors were offered as little as $7,000. These are not edge cases involving minor abuse, they are cases where the Scheme’s formula produced a figure that bears no meaningful relationship to what the survivor actually endured or lost. And once that offer is accepted, the right to pursue civil compensation through the courts is permanently extinguished. The Scheme does not tell you what a court might have awarded. Independent legal advice does.
A review of the National Redress Scheme | Understand your options
Fact #50 – week of 14 July 2026
The National Redress Scheme’s maximum payment is $150,000. In practice, very few survivors receive it.
The $150,000 figure is the ceiling the National Redress Scheme is promoted on. It is not the typical outcome. The Scheme uses a tiered formula based on the nature and severity of the abuse as it categorises it, and the vast majority of payments fall well below the maximum. The average for serious abuse is approximately $80,000. Many payments are lower still. The maximum is reserved for the most severe categories of abuse under the Scheme’s own framework, applied by an administrator who was not there and does not know your story. Civil compensation through the courts is assessed on your actual experience and its real consequences for your life. There is no ceiling.
How the National Redress Scheme calculates payments | NRS payments vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #51 – week of 7 July 2026
The maximum National Redress Scheme payment is $150,000. The average for serious abuse is approximately $80,000. There is no cap on civil compensation.
The National Redress Scheme uses a formula to calculate payments. That formula does not assess what you have actually lost, it produces a number based on the nature and severity of the abuse as the Scheme categorises it. The maximum payment under the Scheme is $150,000, but this is rarely achieved in practice. For serious abuse, the average payment is approximately $80,000 – nearly half the headline figure the Scheme is promoted on. A civil compensation claim through the courts is assessed differently: on the actual harm you have suffered across your health, career, relationships, and quality of life. There is no cap. Outcomes well in excess of $1 million are not uncommon in serious cases.
How the National Redress Scheme calculates payments | NRS payments vs civil compensation: key comparisons
Fact #52 – week of 30 June 2026
One year from when this page was published, the National Redress Scheme closes. Accepting a payment permanently extinguishes your right to a civil claim.
30 June 2027 is the last day to lodge an application to the National Redress Scheme. If you have not yet applied or have received an offer and have not yet signed, you still have time to get independent legal advice. The most important thing to know is this: once you accept a Scheme payment, you cannot later bring a civil compensation claim against the institution. That right is permanently gone. The question is not whether to act before the deadline. The question is which pathway is right for you.
What happens when the National Redress Scheme expires | Understand your options
Get independent legal advice, free and confidential
Koffels Solicitors & Barristers has acted for institutional abuse survivors for decades. We do not act for institutions. Our advice is about what is genuinely in your interest, whether that is the National Redress Scheme, a civil compensation claim, or understanding why those are not the same thing.
Call us on 02 9283 5599 or contact us via the form below for a free, confidential initial consultation. There is no obligation.
Related pages:
National Redress Scheme overview
Institutional abuse compensation hub
NRS vs civil compensation: key insights and comparisons
A review of the National Redress Scheme
What happens when the National Redress Scheme expires
Five things you should know about the National Redress Scheme
