Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse

Announced by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on 12 November 2012 and appointed by Letters Patent issued by Governor-General Quentin Bryce on 11 January 2013. The six commissioners were Justice Peter McClellan AM (chair), Robert Atkinson, Justice Jennifer Coate, Robert Fitzgerald AM, Dr Helen Milroy and Andrew Murray. They were to inquire into institutional responses to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse, what institutions and governments should do to protect children and respond to abuse, and redress for those affected. Every state also appointed the commissioners under its own law between 22 January and 7 March 2013, so it operated as a joint inquiry; the Royal Commissions Amendment Act 2013 gave it powers for private sessions and hearings by individual commissioners. An initial report was due by 30 June 2014, with a final report by a date to be fixed not later than 31 December 2015.

Legislation: Royal Commissions Act 1902

1. 30 June 2014Interim report presented, recommending that the final report date be extended.
2. 13 November 2014Letters Patent amended to extend the final reporting date from 31 December 2015 to 15 December 2017.
3. September 2015Redress and civil litigation report released, recommending a single national redress scheme.
4. August 2017Criminal justice report released.

The final report (17 volumes, 409 recommendations in all with earlier reports) was presented to the Governor-General and made public on 15 December 2017. Its earlier redress report led to the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse (from 1 July 2018), and the government set up the National Office for Child Safety to carry forward the child safe standards it recommended.

• Private sessions and public hearings with survivors of child sexual abuse
• Case studies of the responses of particular institutions
• Recommendations on redress, civil litigation, criminal justice and child safe institutions

Last in the portfolio of Attorney-General's Department.

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