Officials turn to AI to speed up sexual assault claims
Requests from applicants to the national program aimed at restoring justice for victims of sexual abuse are now processed by artificial intelligence.
Department of Social Services secretary Michael Lye said artificial intelligence was being used to help make “faster decisions” on compensation claims for victims of institutional sexual abuse.
Mr Lye told a senate committee that approval of “situational information”, such as the dates someone was at the institution and whether a known criminal was also present, could be expedited.
“The opportunity presented by AI means we can potentially reduce manual effort.
“We want our staff to focus more on working with our border organizations from an impact standpoint,” he said.
Mr Lyle said Social Services staff were still involved in reviewing all decisions made by the AI. Information about the process was available on the ministry’s website.
The National Reparations Program launched in 2018 and will run for ten years, in line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Approximately 64,000 applications were submitted by the end of the last financial year.
Institutions such as churches, sports clubs and orphanages are required to sign up to the program to provide the compensation for which they are responsible. The plan is expected to exceed $5 billion.
In November, the Australian National Audit Office recommended that Social Services find a quick way to process claims, after survivors were allowed to wait an average of 16 months for their applications to be processed.
The use of artificial intelligence in government institutions has increased significantly in recent years; The number of institutions reported to be using AI in 2023/24 was 56; The previous year this number was 36.
Separately, Greens Senator Larissa Waters accused the department of not having enough data on how many women and children are at risk of sexual assault and domestic violence.
More information on this matter is expected throughout Thursday.
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