Counselling for victims of institutional child sex abuse will get a $44 million boost as the royal commission prepares to hear from thousands of survivors.
The federal government on Saturday announced it would pay for organisations to deliver counselling, support and case management to victims and their families before, during and after their engagement with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Specialist counselling groups will be able to apply for funding, as will organisations that support indigenous Australians, people living with disability, people who speak English as a second language and other diverse groups.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Chairman Justice Peter McClellan opened the commission earlier this month, telling a brief hearing in Melbourne that more than 5000 people had already said they want to have their stories heard as part of the inquiry.
"Part of the task given to us ... is to bear witness, on behalf of the nation, to the abuse and consequential trauma inflicted on many people who have suffered sexual abuse as children," he said.
Justice McClellan said the commission was unlikely to meet its interim report deadline of June next year or conclude its work before 2015.
