Descendants of Stolen Generation survivors who died after the Commonwealth announced its redress scheme can now apply for and accept payments on behalf of their deceased relatives through to 28 February, 2026.
The update, announced with little fanfare on the government’s website, broadens the eligibility for potential applicants.
Previously, descendants could only make a claim if their family member died in the six months leading to March 2022, when the government will begin accepting applications.
Healing Foundation’s Fiona Cornforth welcomed the move, and said it rectified a critical misstep from the scheme's announcement last year.
"There [was] that fear of finally being seen and heard, but then not being able to make the most of [the scheme], so this will reduce that fear now," the Wuthathi woman told NITV News.
"Families can still progress the application. It's so important."
“It really is about just making detail known as it's developed so that people can be prepared and equipped for next month."
Fiona Cornforth CEO Healing Foundation said it's vital more Stolen Generations descendants are eligible for redress. (Sarah Collard:NITV News)
The $379 million reparations scheme compensates survivors of the Stolen Generations who were removed in the Northern Territory, the ACT, and Jervis Bay (federal jurisdictions as opposed to state).
Individuals are eligible for up to $82,000, comprised of a $75,000 payment and an additional $7,000 ‘healing’ payment.
The reparations scheme from the Commonwealth comes after decades of campaigning from survivors and descendants, including a class action lawsuit, since the landmark Bringing Them Home report in 1997.
Ms Cornforth said it is vital that her organisation continues to work with the government as it prepares for an influx of applications in the next few weeks.
"We've been working with the team at the National Indigenous Australians Agency where a lot of the details have been crafted. There is a genuine commitment there to do no further harm."
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt’s office confirmed the eligibility criteria have been changed to allow for more ‘flexibility’, saying it now included Stolen Generations survivors who die throughout the scheme.
Thousands of First Nations children were forcibly removed from their families through government policies up until the 1970s. Source: SBS
"The Australian Government has clarified the eligibility criteria to be clear that the time period for which family can apply on behalf of a Stolen Generation survivor who passes extends from the announcement date to the end of the scheme," a spokeswoman told NITV News.
The change was made not long after the announcement and has been endorsed by an external advisory board in late October 2021.
Next week the country will mark 14 years since the Commonwealth formally apologised for the policies which saw tens of thousands of children forcibly removed from their families.
Applications for the scheme open March 1, 2022.
