Applicants to a national scheme aimed at restoring justice to victims of sexual abuse are now having their claims processed by artificial intelligence.
Human Services Secretary Michael Lai said AI was being used to make “faster decisions” on redress claims from victims of institutional sexual abuse.
Lai told a Senate committee it could speed up the verification of “circumstantial information” such as the dates someone was in a facility and whether known criminals were also there.
“Using AI has the potential to reduce manual work.
“We want our staff to focus more on working with frontier organizations from an impact standpoint,” he said.
Lyle said social services staff were still involved in reviewing all decisions made by the AI. Information about this process is outlined on the Ministry’s website.
The National Remedy Scheme began in 2018 and will run for 10 years following the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. As of the end of last year, there were approximately 64,000 applications.
Institutions such as churches, sports clubs and orphanages must sign up to the scheme to provide responsible relief. The plan is expected to cost more than $5 billion.
In November, Australia’s National Audit Office recommended that social services find ways to process applications faster after survivors waited an average of 16 months for their applications to be processed.
The use of AI in government has increased significantly in recent years, with 56 organizations reporting using AI in 2023/24, up from 36 the previous year.
Separately, Green Party senator Larissa Waters accused the department of not having adequate data on the number of women and children at risk of sexual assault and family violence.
Expect more on this topic throughout Thursday.
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