Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
Explanatory Memorandum - Stolen Generation Compensation Bill 2007
Senator Andrew Bartlett
This bill has been amended substantially from the initial exposure draft
version which was tabled in the Senate by Senator Bartlett on 28 March 2007
after taking into consideration comments and submissions by various groups,
especially with regards to the issue of eligibility criteria for ex gratia
payments for claimants.
The legislation now allows for a wider range of claimants and make several
provisions for further services that should be provided for claimants or
their families.
The main provisions in the bill are as follows:
Items 1 -3 - Commencement and definitions
These provisions deal with the commencement of the Act and with the
interpretations of key definitions in the Act.
Item 4 - Entitlement to ex gratia payment
This provision deals with the appropriation of funds for an ex gratia
payment to the applicant. This provision does not preclude applicants from
further or future claims.
Item 5 - Eligibility criteria for ex gratia payment.
This subsection allows for eligibility to remain open to:
. Those who were subject to previous government policies which removed
Indigenous children from their families. This ensures that
eligibility be extended to provide for the children of people removed
under previous government policies of removal to claim compensation
payments to which their parent(s) would have had an entitlement;
. Those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children of mixed race
descent who were subject to legislation for removal from their
families, regardless of the process of conferring wardship or any
other official status bringing about their removal from their
families; and
. Children of deceased persons who were subject to previous government
policies or removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children
from their families.
Item 6 - Applications for ex gratia payment
This provision has been extended to allow for applications to the Stolen
Generations Assessor be extended for a period of seven years to ensure that
adequate time be made available to applicants. This ensures that
information can be disseminated throughout Australia and overseas to locate
the Stolen Generations and to provide time for sufficient resources to be
gathered to make adequate applications.
Item 10 - Establishment of Stolen Generations Fund
This provision sets up the establishment of the Stolen Generations Fund
which ex gratia payments will be made from.
Item 11 - Amount of ex gratia payment
This provision sets the payment of compensation to individual Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander persons removed from their families as children
under previous government policies at $20,000 as common experience payment
and an additional $3,000 payment for each year of institutionalization.
Item 13 - Stolen Generations Tribunal decisions are reviewable
This provision allows for appeals of the decision of the Stolen Generation
Tribunal to be reviewed.
Items 14 - 20 Appointment and functions of the Stolen Generations Tribunal
These provisions deal specifically with the methods of appointment of the
Stolen Generations Tribunal and the merit selection pertaining to it. It
also specifies the powers and procedures of the Tribunal.
Item 21 - Death of applicant
This provision provides that the application for ex gratia payments by an
applicant are deemed not to have lapsed should they die before their
application is decided.
Item 22 - Additional support
This provision provides for the setting of other support services that
should be taken into consideration such as the establishment of the
following:
. Healing centers and services of assistance for people in receipt of
compensation as a result of removal from their families; and
. Funeral Trust Fund for the provision of funeral services for the
deceased.
Schedule 1 - Provisions in relation to the Stolen Generation Tribunal
This provision deals with the conditions of appointment of members of the
Stolen Generations Tribunal.