About

The Scheme

The Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme is administered by the National Indigenous Australians Agency. The Scheme seeks to recognise the harm and trauma experienced by Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families or communities in the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory before self-government, and the Jervis Bay Territory.

The Scheme is survivor focussed and operates on the basis of ‘do no further harm’.

The Scheme opened on 1 March 2022 and will close on 30 June 2026. You can apply anytime between 1 March 2022 and 28 February 2026.

The Scheme is a financial and wellbeing package that:

• Makes payments in recognition of the harm caused by removal from family or community.
• Assists with the healing of this trauma for the Stolen Generations survivors who were removed in the territories.
• Help survivors gain access to free support services.
• Gives survivors the choice to tell their story.

For more information please call 1800 566 111, or email help@territoriesredress.gov.au.

Eligibility

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for redress under the Scheme, the delegated National Indigenous Australians Agency decision-maker must be satisfied that it is plausible that both of the following criteria are met:

1. The applicant is a person of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, who is a Stolen Generations survivor. 
   In assessing this, the decision-maker will consider:
   • whether the applicant was removed from their family or community by:
     1. a government agency or non-government body, or
     2. an officer of such an agency or body;
   • whether the applicant was under the age of 18 at the time they were removed;
   • whether the applicant’s Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent was a factor in their removal; and
   • any other factors that are relevant to determining whether the applicant meets this criterion.
2. The applicant’s removal took place in the:
   • Northern Territory, prior to 1 July 1978; or
   • Australian Capital Territory, prior to 11 May 1989; or
   • Jervis Bay Territory.

The Scheme is a Commonwealth scheme that applies to the relevant territories. A date limit applies for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory to reflect the time when the Commonwealth had responsibility for those territories before they became self-governing.

Within the period of Commonwealth responsibility, the intent of the Scheme is to benefit those removed during a defined ‘Stolen Generations’ period (see below).

The Scheme recognises there may be absent or inadequate historical records regarding the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, and the evidentiary standard of plausible takes this into account.

The evidentiary standard of plausible means there must be sufficient evidence to show that it is plausible the applicant meets the eligibility criteria.

Definition of Stolen Generations

For the purpose of the Scheme, the term Stolen Generations refers to people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families and/or communities as children by a government agency or non-government body as a result of past government policies of assimilation. While most Stolen Generations removals took place prior to 1972, the term includes removals that took place as a result of the continued application of these policies.

Privacy

What happens to my personal information?

We will ask you to provide personal information to the Scheme if you are:

• Applying for redress under the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme.
• Appointing a redress nominee.
• The appointed redress nominee.
• Applying on behalf of someone who has passed away.

Your personal information is protected by law, including the Privacy Act 1988.

Why do we collect your information?

The National Indigenous Australians Agency is responsible for administering the Scheme, as well as the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information. We will collect your personal information to enable us to:

• Check your identity to make sure we are providing redress to the right person.
• Check your redress nominee’s identity to make sure we contact with the right person.
• Change or remove an assistance nominee if you tell us to do so.
• Determine whether you are eligible for redress.
• Communicate with other persons and bodies for the purposes of processing your application, including:
  • Searching for records about you, to help us to determine if you are eligible for redress.
  • Checking whether you have received any relevant prior payments.
• Provide you with redress (for example, by making a redress payment and/or delivering a Personal Acknowledgement).
• Administer, report on, evaluate and analyse the Scheme (though we will not include information that identifies you in any public reports or other materials of this kind).

When we might disclose your personal information to, or collect it from, third parties

We may need to disclose your personal information to third parties.

We may also need to collect your personal information and personal information about your redress nominee from third parties for those same purposes. 

We will only do this with your consent or your redress nominee’s consent, or where the law otherwise allows or requires us to. These third parties may include:

• Government agencies and their staff (for example, Services Australia, Department of Home Affairs, or State and Territory agencies).
• Non-government organisations that may hold your personal information (such as record repositories, or institutions that may have been involved in your removal).
• Organisations involved in the delivery of the Scheme (such as service providers contracted by the Commonwealth to verify your identity, or provide support to you).
• Ministers’ offices and public servants (who may be involved in delivering a Personal Acknowledgement to you, if requested).
• Your redress nominees (if any).

For example, we may need to contact a record-holder, such as a State archive, to locate documents that will help us to determine whether you are eligible for redress. This might involve:

• Disclosing your personal information to the archive (for example, your name and date of birth), so that they can find relevant records.
• Collecting your personal information from the archive, when they give us records about your removal.

The Scheme will not disclose your personal information to anyone overseas.

What happens if we do not collect this information?

Neither you nor your redress nominee have to provide your personal information. If you do not, however, we may not be able to be able to process your application, provide you with redress, or appoint a nominee.

More information about privacy

For more information about how your personal information will be handled read our Privacy Policy which is available on the National Indigenous Australians Agency's website. Our Privacy Policy contains information about:

• How you can access personal information that we hold about you, and ask us to correct any errors in that information.
• How you can complain about a breach of your privacy, and how we will deal with complaints.

Access to information

If you or your redress nominee would like to discuss accessing a copy of any information we hold about you, you can contact us by calling 1800 566 111 or emailing help@territoriesredress.gov.au.

The information you provide will be protected from unauthorised disclosure under the Privacy Act 1988.

External Advisory Board

An External Advisory Board with Stolen Generations organisations and survivors, and trauma specialists are assisting with the design, implementation and evaluation of the Scheme to make sure it operates to best meet the needs of Stolen Generations survivors.

The board will be in line with commitments set out in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap to engage fully and transparently on significant policy change that primarily impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Board members will work in collaboration with the board co-Chairs to make sure the design and implementation of the Scheme is survivor-focused, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive, as well as being aligned with government objectives, policies, and obligations.

Feedback and Complaints

We value your feedback. You can submit a complaint, give a compliment or offer a suggestion to help us improve our service.

Phone

You can call us on 1800 566 111 if you need help with a complaint.

National Relay Service

If you are deaf, or have a hearing impairment or speech impairment, contact us through the National Relay Service.

• TTY users phone 133 677 then ask for 1300 362 072.
• Speak and Listen users phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 1300 362 072.
• Internet Relay users connect to the National Relay Service then ask for 1300 362 072.

Online

You can also write to us via National Indigenous Australians Agency's online feedback and complaints form.

In writing

You can send us a letter and postage is free from within Australia.

Complaints 
National Indigenous Australians Agency 
PO Box 2191 
Canberra ACT 2600

Please keep in mind, if you provide feedback or complaints to us in writing, it may take us longer to respond.

What we need from you

Please be clear, factual, and tell us the outcome you would like. Providing your name and contact details will help us to get in touch and help resolve the issue. If you provide feedback anonymously, we won’t be able to respond to you personally.

How we’ll respond

We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days. If we can’t resolve your complaint, we’ll explain why and let you know your other options.

If we need to contact you, it’ll be from a private number. For privacy reasons, we can’t leave a message, unless your voicemail clearly identifies who you are.

When to contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman

If you’re not happy with the outcome of your complaint you can take it further. You can contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman through their website.

Fraud reporting

The National Indigenous Australians Agency takes all allegations of fraud seriously. However, the Agency can only investigate matters that relate to funds that it administers and other activities or responsibilities that fall within the domain of the Agency. The Agency has no jurisdiction to investigate allegations of fraud or the activities of other Government departments or agencies.

To report suspected or potential fraud on Agency funding or other activities that the Agency administers contact:

The Fraud helpdesk email: fraud@niaa.gov.au

The Fraud hotline: 02 6152 3020

In writing: 
Fraud Control Officer 
National Indigenous Australians Agency 
PO Box 2191  
Canberra ACT 2600

Other redress schemes

New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme

For information on the New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme and Funeral Assistance Fund, visit the Aboriginal Affairs NSW Government website.

Services for Victoria's Stolen Generations

For information, on services for Victoria’s Stolen Generations visit Services for Victoria's Stolen Generations website.

National Redress Scheme

The National Redress Scheme provides support to people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. For more information visit the National Redress Scheme website. Note that any redress payments that eligible applicants receive through the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme will not impact any payments you may receive from the National Redress Scheme, as the schemes are for two different purposes.