Fresh designs being sought for national memorial for victims and survivors of institutional sexual abuse, after earlier glass structure scraped

Warning: This story contains details that some readers may find distressing.

The federal government is once again seeking designs for a long-promised national memorial for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, which is now expected to cost $7.9 million.

A memorial was recommended by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2017 and a first design competition was held in 2021.

But an initial design for the memorial, which will be built on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra near the National Museum of Australia, had to be scrapped after technical assessments revealed “complex construction challenges”.

The memorial is now expected to be finished by the year 2026, three years later than had initially been promised,

Canberra-based victim-survivor Josh Byrnes said the setback felt like “another opportunity for survivors to feel they have been forgotten about a little bit”.

Seeking quiet a part of survivor’s life

For Mr Byrnes, who was groomed and sexually abused by his second cousin, a priest, between the ages of 11 and 19, seeking quiet spaces to reflect is something he does regularly.

Mr Byrnes said his “open dialogue” with his wife had played a major part in his own healing journey.

“She was the first person that I was actually able to tell that I’d been abused,” he said.

He urged the federal government to continue to progress the project and to keep working with victim-survivors and listening to their voices as it did so.

A “blame game” was something he didn’t want to see.

Initial design proved too challenging

After the Coalition government allocated $6.7 million for the project in 2020, a design of 98 freestanding glass archways over pathways and flowers was unveiled.

The design, titled Transparency and Truth, was created by Sydney-based architects Peter Besley and Jessica Spresser and unveiled by then-minister for families and social services Anne Ruston.

But the Department of Social Services website, updated earlier this year, stated the design came up against “complex construction challenges” due to the use of glass in the design.

Those issues emerged following technical assessments.

Mr Besley and Ms Spresser declined to comment when contacted by the ABC.

Since scrapping that design, costs for the project have increased, with the federal government committing an additional $1.1 million, taking the project total to $7.9 million.

The National Capital Authority also committed $300,000 in funding to the project.

Construction on the memorial is expected to begin next year, with a completion date of 2026 now set, three years later than the initial date in 2023.

New design selection process will close next month

In order to ensure no repeat of the previous issue, DSS stated the second design selection process would include assessing proposed designs for compliance before the final selection process.

The NCA said it was seeking “trauma-informed” designs.

“The National Memorial will provide people with lived experience, their families, supporters, and allies, a place of remembrance, reflection, truth, healing and hope.”

The ABC requested interviews with a spokesperson from the National Capital Authority and the Department of Social Services but both declined.

Additional comment from DSS has also been sought.