Child sexual abuse survivors feel betrayed by a national redress scheme that must be overhauled if it is to deliver them justice, a federal parliamentary committee says.
The cross-party committee says some institutions are "dragging their feet", stopping survivors obtaining redress, and wants churches and charities penalised if they refuse to participate.
It has demanded significant changes to the $3.8 billion scheme, including increasing the maximum compensation available to people sexually abused as children in Australian institutions.
"The report has found that, as it currently operates, the redress scheme is at serious risk of not delivering on its objective of providing justice to survivors."
Committee deputy chair Sharon Claydon said the report was a damning assessment of the nine-month-old scheme, which fell short of many of the child abuse royal commission's key recommendations.
"Each and every time where this parliament has deviated from those recommendations it has been felt to be a betrayal from survivors," she said on Wednesday.
The substantive legislative and policy changes would require the support of whichever party wins the federal election and agreement from state and territory governments, which the committee deemed significant-but-not-insurmountable barriers.
"The committee has concluded that without legislative change the scheme may never be properly accepted by survivors as a fair scheme and a real alternative to litigation," the report said.
Institutions that have not yet signed up to the scheme are being named and shamed, but the committee wants the government to look at compelling them to join.
"Institutions that refuse to recognise their role in the abuses that occurred and to accept responsibility for their actions should be subject to clear penalties, which could include the suspension of tax concessions and the withdrawal of their charitable status."
Ms Claydon said some organisations had refused to respond to requests to join the scheme.
"If people are simply dragging their feet for no good reason, that is intolerable," she told parliament.
Backing demands by survivors and victims' advocates for changes, the committee demanded the federal, state and territory governments agree to lift the maximum redress payment from $150,000 to the royal commission's $200,000 cap.
It also wants a new framework for assessing redress applications and access to lifelong counselling.
Lawyer and victims' advocate Dr Judy Courtin said the current assessment framework created a hierarchy of abuse and failed to recognise the impact on victims.
"It traumatises, it is unfair and it is unjust," she told AAP.
Dr Courtin said changes must be made now to fully implement all of the royal commission's recommendations.
"It has to happen quickly - too many people are dying," she said.
The federal government said it will carefully consider the report's recommendations, noting many of them require the full cooperation of state and territory governments or may have legislative implications.
Labor, which has raised concerns about aspects of the redress system, said it will work with states and territories to improve the scheme if it wins the federal election.
About 60,000 survivors are eligible under the scheme that began last July, which has so far received more than 3300 applications and made 115 redress payments.
