Institutions should be penalised if they fail to sign up to the national redress scheme while the maximum compensation for child sexual abuse survivors should be increased, a report says.
A federal parliamentary committee has called for significant changes to the $3.8 billion scheme amid criticism from survivors and victims' advocates.
"The report has found that, as it currently operates, the redress scheme is at serious risk of not delivering on its objective of providing justice to survivors," it said.
The committee and advocates want the scheme overhauled so all of the recommendations of the child abuse royal commission are implemented.
That will require substantive legislative and policy changes with the agreement of the state and territory governments, the committee noted in its report released late on Tuesday night.
"The committee has concluded that without legislative change the scheme may never be properly accepted by survivors as a fair scheme and a real alternative to litigation."
The federal government has publicly identified institutions named in the royal commission that have not signed up to the scheme, but the committee said that was not, by itself, sufficient.
"Institutions that refuse to recognise their role in the abuses that occurred and to accept responsibility for their actions should be subject to clear penalties, which could include the suspension of tax concessions and the withdrawal of their charitable status," the report said.
The committee recommended the Commonwealth, state and territory governments agree to increase the maximum redress payment from $150,000 to the $200,000 cap recommended by the royal commission.
It also wants "wholly inadequate" amounts for counselling addressed so survivors have life-long access to the services, and changes to the framework for assessing redress applications.
"Significant changes to the scheme cannot wait - they must be made now," the report said.
