Child abuse victims who become sexual offenders themselves or commit serious crimes still deserve to be compensated for the abuse they suffered, a victims' advocate says.
The federal government's framework for a $4 billion national redress scheme excludes sex offenders and anyone jailed for five years or more for crimes such as murder or serious drug and fraud offences.
Social Services Minister Christian Porter says the "agonising" decision, reached during negotiations to get the states to join the Commonwealth scheme, is designed to protect its integrity.
But Care Leavers Australasia Network CEO Leonie Sheedy says the government has effectively created a second class of child abuse victims who will be denied justice and redress.
"Those perpetrators were victims," she said on Thursday.
"We must provide them with an acknowledgement and some redress for the crimes that were committed against them.
"If we don't give them justice and redress, we're allowing the churches and the charities and the state governments to get off with those people's crimes."
Ms Sheedy said it was not known how many survivors would be affected by the exclusion, but she knew of one CLAN member who was abused as a child and murdered a pedophile.
"Why shouldn't he get some compensation for the rape and sodomy that occurred to him as a state ward?"
Mr Porter said the almost unanimous view during discussions with state attorneys-general was there had to be some limitations involving people who committed serious crimes and in particular sexual offences.
"No one disputes what the royal commission has said, which is that many times people who were the victims and survivors of abuse as a child can often go on, because of those terrible circumstances, to themselves commit wrongs in their life.
"But a view was taken - and it was not an easy decision to make - that having some boundaries and reasonable limitations to the applicants was necessary to have public faith and confidence in the scheme and to get the necessary opt-in that we've been talking about."
The scheme so far only covers 1000 of an estimated 60,000 institutional child sexual abuse survivors, because they were abused in Commonwealth and territory institutions.
Mr Porter was confident of getting a great number of churches and charities and many states to opt into the scheme, despite South Australia's firm opposition.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he was keen to be part of it but it had to be a proper national scheme.
"There's got to be involvement from the non-government sector, that's probably the biggest outstanding issue - to what extent are the churches and others signed up to this," he said.
NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman said he would "co-operatively engage" with other jurisdictions to develop a meaningful and practical redress scheme.
The scheme will provide compensation of up to $150,000, counselling and a direct response from the responsible institution.
