Victims of historical abuse and neglect in Victoria's institutional care system will have to wait a little longer for a formal apology.
Premier Jacinta Allan was scheduled to apologise to care leavers on behalf of the Victorian government in state parliament on Wednesday, fulfilling an election promise by her predecessor Daniel Andrews.
The date for the historic apology was confirmed on November 17, giving stakeholder groups and victims fewer than two weeks to prepare.
But the state government on Monday announced it would delay the apology until February 8 next year, pending agreement by both chambers of parliament.
"We've listened to care leavers and have moved the formal apology date to allow them and the organisations representing and advocating on their behalf time to prepare," a Victorian government spokesperson said.
Between 1928 and 1990, an estimated 90,000 Victorian children were placed into institutions such as orphanages, children's homes and missions run by the state or religious groups.
Many of them suffered abuse and neglect.
Former Victorian premier Steve Bracks issued a formal apology to former wards of the state for institutional abuse and neglect following the recommendation of a 2004 federal report.
In 2018, former prime minister Scott Morrison delivered a national apology to institutional sex abuse victims and survivors after a federal royal commission.
Before last year's state election, Mr Andrews committed to delivering a formal apology in parliament to survivors of all forms of abuse in institutional settings if Labor was re-elected - tying the two previous apologies together.
The Victorian government has invested $7.5 million to create a redress scheme and $10,000 hardship payments for people who suffered abuse or neglect in state care over the six-decade span.
The redress scheme has not been rolled out yet.
A separate apology has been promised by the state government to students abused at Beaumaris Primary School in Melbourne's southeast from the 1960s until 1999.
A public memorial acknowledging historical child sex abuse at Victorian government schools is also under consideration.
The revelation emerged last week during the final public hearing of an inquiry into abuse at Beaumaris and 22 other schools, which is due to hand down its final report on February 28, 2024.
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