Cricket ACT could be left in a precarious financial position after Cricket Australia stopped short of offering monetary assistance to meet their obligations under the National Redress Scheme.
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The program was established after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and allows survivors to apply for compensation.
Cricket ACT has been at the centre of a high-profile case, with former junior coach Ian Harold King sentenced to more than 20 years in jail for sexual abuse of multiple boys.
The organisation officially became a participant in the program last Monday, having first commenced the process to join the National Redress Scheme in 2020.
Cricket ACT's original application was rejected by the Department of Social Services due to an inability to meet the financial requirements of the program.
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Cricket Australia has encouraged all state and territory organisations to sign up to the scheme, however Western Australian Cricket Association remains the only other to sign up.
The governing body published an apology to survivors of child sexual abuse within the sport last year.
Rather than sign up to the scheme at a national level, Cricket Australia has left it up to the states and territories to do so, and carry the financial burden that comes with it. The organisation has been criticised for the lack of financial support offered to the smaller associations.
Survivors who access the National Redress Scheme can apply for up to $150,000 in compensation. Given the scale of the abuse, Cricket ACT could be facing a bill in the millions of dollars.
While senior officials were determined to join the program to make amends for past injustices, there are genuine fears within the organisation of the financial implications of the move.
When asked last week, Cricket ACT chief executive Olivia Thornton said they were working with CA to chart a path forward.
The Department of Social Services is willing to assist the organisation to meet its financial obligations, however, there is still a belief in some quarters of the need for CA to contribute.
In a statement to The Canberra Times, the governing body praised Cricket ACT for becoming a participant of the scheme, however, they did not express a desire to support financially.
"We are pleased that Cricket ACT has met the requirements of the National Redress Scheme and become a signatory," the statement said.
"This demonstrates the strong commitment of Cricket ACT to provide recourse for survivors of abuse. CA has worked closely with Cricket ACT in an advisory capacity to help achieve this objective and provided some legal assistance to help with the management of claims.
"We will continue to review how we can provide support."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
