Hardship payments offer a one-off payment to people who were physically, psychologically or emotionally abused or neglected as children in institutional care in Victoria before 1990, and who are now terminally or critically ill.
These hardship payments were announced along with the redress scheme for Victorians who were placed in institutional care as children before 1990 and experienced physical, psychological and emotional abuse or neglect.
The scheme will be co-designed and administered by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (the department). The hardship payment is for people who, due to their illness, are unlikely to benefit from the scheme.
For more information about the redress scheme and other support that is available, visit Pre-1990 care leavers.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for a one-off $10,000 hardship payment, a person abused or neglected as a child in Victorian institutional care will need to:
- have been placed in Victorian institutional care for at least 6 months before 1990
- have a terminal or critical illness.
You cannot apply on behalf of someone who has died.
For more information view the Questions and answers about the hardship payment (Word).
To apply
- read the Application form instructions
- complete the Application form on a computer or paper
- have a registered medical practitioner complete the Medical statement form to indicate you have a terminal or critical illness
- provide certified copies of two documents that confirm your identity
- send the completed application form, the Medical statement form and certified copies of your two identity documents via:
- email: VictorianGovernmentRedressScheme@dffh.vic.gov.au or
- post: Victorian historical care leaver redress, hardship payment, GPO Box 1774, Melbourne VIC 3001.
- email: VictorianGovernmentRedressScheme@dffh.vic.gov.au or
Document downloads
- Application form instructions (Word)
- Application form (Word)
- Medical statement form (Word)
- Questions and answers about the hardship payment (Word)
- Questions and answers for medical practitioners (Word)
Help with your application
You can get help to apply for a hardship payment from the following organisations:
- Care Leavers Australasia Network (CLAN)
phone: 1800 008 774 or 0425 204 747
email: support@clan.org.au - Open Place (Relationships Australia Victoria)
phone: 1800 779 379 or (03) 9421 6162
email: info@openplace.com.au
You can nominate a support person or organisation to help you with the application process. A support person or organisation cannot apply for a hardship payment or accept or decline an offer on your behalf.
If someone acts on your behalf in a legal capacity, such as Power of Attorney, they can also apply on your behalf as your nominee. They will need to provide evidence that they act on your behalf in a legal capacity.