Survivors of historical child sexual abuse will have entitlements to compensation via the National Redress Scheme if the abuse was enabled by an institution (e.g. when you were involved with a sporting club, a church or were in foster care). Survivors may also be able to sue the perpetrator of the abuse or the institution that allowed it to occur and claim compensation.
In addition to having entitlements via the National Redress Scheme or via a personal injury claim (survivors can usually only claim under one of these options), you may also be able to claim on TPD and income protection insurance benefits held in your super account or directly if you are forced to cease work due to illness associated with the abuse.
When will survivors of historical child sexual abuse be entitled to make a TPD claim?
If you are a survivor of historical child sexual abuse, you will be entitled to claim total and permanent disability (TPD) benefits if the abuse has led to you being unwell and having to cease work due to an illness (usually a psychiatric illness).
Importantly, being the victim of the abuse alone will not be enough to entitle you to a payment of the TPD benefit (which can sometimes be the case with compensation claims). To be paid a TPD benefit you must show that the illness renders you unlikely to work again in your old job or similar jobs. This is because TPD benefits are work-based benefits.
Notably, you do not have to prove that the child sexual abuse has made you unwell. You simply have to prove that you are unwell (for example, depression, anxiety, another mental illness or a physical condition) and cannot return to work as a result of your injury or illness.
When will survivors of child sexual abuse be entitled to income protection?
As with TPD benefits, income protection benefits (sometimes called salary continuance benefits) are work-based insurance benefits.
This means that abuse survivors will be entitled to income protection benefits if illness causes them to cease work. Unlike with TPD claims, there is no requirement that the work incapacity be permanent, and income protection benefits will be paid for each month that you are unable to work due to your illness.
It’s important to understand that a waiting period usually applies before you can claim on your income protection benefits. You can read more about this in our earlier blog, “Income protection waiting periods”.
Evidence required for a successful TPD or income protection claim?
There will be no requirement that an abuse survivor show that:
- they have suffered abuse; or
- that the abuse has caused the work incapacity that is claimed.
You will simply need medical evidence to support that you are permanently unable to work due to your illness. This is a key difference from claims for compensation due to child sexual abuse via the National Redress Scheme or in court (a personal injury claim), which will sometimes fail if it cannot be shown that the abuse has occurred or when/where it occurred.
Similarly, to be successful with an income protection claim, proof that you have ceased work due to illness or injury, are unable to do your normal duties and are not working due to illness or injury will usually be enough to be entitled to claim. Further, you will usually need to prove this for each month that you are not working and claiming a benefit.
The relationship you have with your doctor(s) is crucial when making a TPD claim or income protection claim.
Is a psychiatrist’s opinion required to claim a TPD or income protection benefit due to historical sexual abuse?
In the case of claims for both TPD and income protection benefits for psychiatric illnesses or injuries, it will assist the claim if you have the support of a treating psychiatrist.
We understand that many people are unable to access treatment by a psychiatrist due to access and affordability issues or simply because they are better treated by a psychologist and GP. In such cases, the support of a psychologist will assist the claim, but technically, the opinion of doctors is what is used to assess TPD and income protection claims, and psychologists are not medical doctors. This means that the opinions of psychologists can sometimes be overlooked.
If you are not getting treatment from a psychiatrist (or psychologist), you can rely on opinions from your GP, and we can sometimes use medicolegal reports accessed through your National Redress claim or court compensation claim to support your TPD and/or income protection claim. Importantly, you will need support for the claim from at least one doctor (past or current) that your work is impacted by illness.
Will my historical sexual abuse compensation payout impact on my TPD or income protection claim?
Income protection claims
It is possible that claiming an income protection benefit will impact on your personal injury claim payment by reducing the amount that you can be awarded for loss of income.
Also, if you are receiving income protection insurance benefits and you are paid a sexual abuse settlement (court-based or National Redress Scheme), it’s likely that your income protection insurance benefits will be stopped or reduced for up to 5 years because of the settlement. You should seek legal advice if you’re claiming income protection whilst also claiming any other form of lump sum compensation settlement.
TPD claims
TPD claims are usually not impacted by personal injury claims or National Redress Scheme compensation for child sexual abuse. Also, TPD claims rarely impact court or redress scheme settlements for sexual abuse.
Get help from a TPD and income protection lawyer
We are experts at TPD and income protection claims and have helped countless people claim benefits for illnesses or injuries associated with sexual abuse. We can work closely with doctors (including psychiatrists) and other medical experts (e.g. psychologists) to get the support that is required to win the claim.
If you would like to make a claim for disability insurance benefits associated with historic child sexual abuse, please get in touch for some free advice on the best way to make a claim.
Contacting Berrill & Watson
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