The following recommendations detail the offering and making the final reparations payment to eligible applicants.
Recommendation 30
The Steering Committee recommends that any previous payment received by an applicant for abuse due to separation from family, such as civil litigation payment or National Redress Scheme payment, not impact on eligibility for and the amount received from the Stolen Generations Reparations package.
Recommendation 31
The Steering Committee recommends that if an eligible applicant passes away during the Reparations assessment process the financial Reparations are paid into their estate.
To complete this recommendation, it is noted that the following should be considered:
- Free legal support to families of the deceased for complex estate matters. Please see recommendation 33, 4.11 Support Services for Applicants
for more details on legal support services. - An agreement with Victorian Public Trustee is established to ensure that any applicants who have their financial affairs managed by the Public Trustee can receive payments in full and not subject to any Public Trustee fees.
It is recommended that the administration of payments process should also consider the following:
- On offering a reparations payment to successful applicants ensure that legal and financial counselling are offered prior to making payment.
- On offering a reparations payment to successful applicants ensure a self-determination approach is used in making the payment, and a full and complete understanding how an applicant wants to receive payment prior to making it.
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