Prince Charles’ The Prince’s Trust-run Fairbridge Restored Limited under fire over National Redress scheme

Prince Charles’ charity will be hauled before a Federal committee to explain why an organisation it merged with failed to meet the deadline to sign up to the National Redress scheme resulting in delays to compensation paid to child sexual abuse survivors. It can also be revealed that senior Federal Government officials, including the Attorney-General’s Department, have started discussions to resolve the matter that has impacted abuse survivors of Fairbridge schools, including the school that used to run in Pinjarra. Last month, Fairbridge Restored Limited was named by Social Services Minister Anne Ruston as one of six institutions that had failed to sign up to the redress scheme by the Government’s deadline of June 30. Fairbridge was an English society that sent child migrants to Australia to live in “farm schools” where they were often beaten, sexually abused and made to do child labour. In WA, there were 3580 children sent to the Kingsley Fairbridge Farm School near Pinjarra between 1913 and 1982. Fairbridge’s case has been complicated by the fact the society technically no longer exists. In 2012, it was taken over by The Prince’s Trust, Prince Charles’ charity. Fairbridge is under administration. The chair of Parliament’s National Redress Scheme oversight committee, WA senator Dean Smith, said The Prince’s Trust and Fairbridge would be called to to explain their failure to meet the deadline. He has also written to Premier Mark McGowan seeking an undertaking that should Fairbridge or The Prince’s Trust be found to be a “defunct organisation”, the State Government would become a “funder of last resort”. “The National Redress Scheme’s Funder of Last Resort provisions require State governments to share the costs of providing redress when an institution res-ponsible for child sexual abuse is defunct,” Senator Smith said. “Fairbridge survivors have waited too long and it would be an enormous comfort to them if the WA Government signalled that it will not hesitate to invoke the Funder of Last Resort provisions if required.” A Prince’s Trust spokesperson last night told The West Australian: “We understand that proactive talks are ongoing between Fairbridge and the National Redress Scheme and that, to reflect the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, organisations now have until 31 December 2020 to join the scheme.”