The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report upon responses by institutions to instances and allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia. The establishment of the Commission followed revelations of child abusers being moved from place to place instead of their crimes being reported to police. There were also revelations adults failed to try to stop further acts of child abuse. The commission examined the history of abuse in educational institutions, religious groups, sporting organisations, state institutions and youth organisations. The final report of the commission was made public on 15 December 2017.The sex abuse royal commission went to some dark places - here is some of what it found. ABC News. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
Background During the late 1990s and early 2000s, allegations were made of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia and in a number of other religious and non-religious institutions. Some of these allegations led to convictions, trials and ongoing investigations into acts committed by Catholic priests and members of Catholic religious orders. Some of the allegations relate to incidents alleged to have taken place during the 1950s, others later. There were calls for a Royal Commission since the late 1990s.
Similar allegations against the Roman Catholic Church had been made in the United States, in Ireland, in Canada, in Belgium, and several other European countries. In Ireland, the government's Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse was established in 2000 and presented its final report to the Dáil in 2009, covering allegations of child abuse from 1936 onwards.
A 1996 parliamentary inquiry in Western Australia attempted to review the extent of abuse, including sexual abuse, of children in state care; however it realised that the scope of the task was too big. In South Australia there were allegations that the Government of South Australia was not accurately reporting the numbers of children being sexually abused in remote parts of the state. In Queensland, during 1999 the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions (headed by Leneen Forde, a former Governor of Queensland), investigated the treatment of children in 159 licensed government and non-government institutions from 1911 to 1999. In its report, the Inquiry found that abuse had occurred and made 42 recommendations relating to contemporary child protection practices, youth justice and redress of past abuse.
In Victoria, in January 2011 the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry was launched to investigate Victoria's child protection system and make recommendations to strengthen and improve the protection and support of vulnerable young people.Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children Inquiry Report The inquiry was chaired by a former Supreme Court of Victoria Justice, the Hon. Philip Cummins, and reported in January 2012. The report considered the issue of the sexual and other abuse of children by personnel in religious organisations and recommended that a formal investigation should be conducted into the processes by which religious organisations respond to the criminal abuse of children by personnel in their organisation. A bi-partisan parliamentary inquiry was established in May 2012 in that state to seek information about the causes and effects of criminal abuse within religious and other non-government organisations; whether victims were discouraged from reporting such abuse; if such abuse was reported, how the reporting of their experience of abuse was handled; the consequences of abuse, including the effect on the victims and others, and the consequences for the perpetrator(s); the adequacy of the policies, procedures and practices within religious and other non-government organisations that related to the prevention of, and response to, child abuse; and suggestions for reform, to help prevent abuse and ensure that allegations of abuse are properly dealt with. During its proceedings it heard from a police report that detailed 40 suicide deaths directly related to abuse by Roman Catholic clergy. In October 2012, the chief commissioner of Victoria Police, Ken Lay, in a submission to the parliamentary inquiry, recommended that some of the Roman Catholic Church's actions to hinder investigations (including dissuading victims from reporting to police, failing to engage with police and alerting suspects of allegations against them) be criminalised.
By June 2012, there was community and academic pressure for the establishment of a royal commission, most especially in Victoria.
Hunter Special Commission of Inquiry
In July 2012, John Pirona, a victim of Father John Denham, took his own life. Pirona left a note that said "Too Much Pain". The prime minister, Julia Gillard, visited Newcastle on 8 August 2012, the day of Pirona's funeral, where mourners backed The Newcastle Herald's "Shine the Light" campaign for a royal commission.
Journalist Joanne McCarthy's report on Pirona's death and clergy abuse in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland–Newcastle was the catalyst for the "Shine the Light" campaign that would ultimately lead to the Royal Commission.
In November 2012, Peter Fox, a senior detective in the NSW Police, alleged he had been stood down from investigating child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy while he was compiling "explosive" evidence from a key witness and that "the church covers up, silences victims, hinders police investigations, alerts offenders, destroys evidence and moves priests to protect the good name of the church".
Fox went public with his allegations in November 2012, when he spoke about the "evil of paedophilia within the Catholic Church".
On 9 November 2012, Premier of New South Wales, Barry O'Farrell, announced the appointment of a Special Commission of Inquiry into allegations raised about police handling of allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. The Commission was headed by Margaret Cunneen. The Special Commission inquiry centred around internal church documents obtained by Newcastle Herald journalist Joanne McCarthy, that revealed a group of senior clergy allegedly attempting to conceal the crimes of Father Denis McAlinden, a prolific paedophile.
The Cunneen Inquiry found Fox was not a credible witness, prone to exaggeration and his evidence must be "approached with caution". The report also found that senior Catholic Church officials, including former Bishop Leo Clarke, withheld information from police.
On 12 November 2012, prime minister, Julia Gillard, announced she would be recommending to the governor-general the creation of a royal commission. On 19 November 2012, federal attorney-general Nicola Roxon and the acting minister for families, Brendan O'Connor, released a consultation paper seeking input into the commission's scope of the terms of reference, how the Commonwealth and the states and territories would work together, the number of commissioners and suggested areas of expertise, the proposed timetable and reporting requirements.
Archbishop Denis Hart, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, stated that he welcomed and promised co-operation with a Royal Commission to broadly investigate child sexual abuse in institutions across Australia. The Australian Bishops Conference said that "talk of a systemic problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is ill-founded and inconsistent with the facts",
Cardinal George Pell stated that he hoped the Royal Commission would stop a "smear campaign" against the Catholic Church.
During a press conference on 13 November 2012, Cardinal Pell voiced his support for the Royal Commission and welcomed the opportunity to help victims and clear the air. Responding to Pell's press conference, Bishop Geoffrey Robinson described Pell as a "great embarrassment to me and to a lot of good Catholic people".
Terms of reference On 11 January 2013, Governor-General Quentin Bryce issued Commonwealth letters patent appointing six commissioners and the commission's terms of reference. The commissioners were directed "to inquire into institutional responses to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse and related matters".
Each state was also requested to issue letters patent, or their equivalent instruments of appointment, which allow the six commissioners to conduct an inquiry into institutional responses to child sexual abuse under their respective laws. The commissioners were formally appointed under Western Australian law on 22 January 2013, Queensland law on 24 January 2013, New South Wales law on 25 January 2013, Victorian law on 12 February 2013, Tasmanian law on 4 March 2013 and South Australian law on 7 March 2013. Despite both the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory having their own governments, they are officially administered under the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Commonwealth letters patent covered their jurisdiction.
Commissioners and executive Gillard announced the setting up of the royal commission and the appointment of six commissioners with Peter McClellan as its head. The six commissioners were: Bob Atkinson, a former Police Commissioner of Queensland who oversaw police reforms following the Fitzgerald Inquiry Jennifer Coate, an appointee to the Family Court of Australia, a judge of the County Court of Victoria, and a former president of Children's Court of Victoria Robert Fitzgerald, a commissioner on the Productivity Commission, convenor to the Indigenous Disadvantage Working Group and a former commissioner on the NSW Community and Disability Services Peter McClellan, a Supreme Court of New South Wales judge, a former chair of the Sydney Water Inquiry, and a former assistant commissioner at the Independent Commission Against Corruption Helen Milroy, a consultant psychiatrist with the WA Department of Health specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, and director of the Western Australian Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health Andrew Murray, a former senator from Western Australia and advocate on issues surrounding institutionalised children
The setting up of the royal commission was established by Julia Gillard, supported by the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, and by the Greens, as were the terms of reference and the choice of commissioners.
The inaugural chief executive officer was Janette Dines, who served from January 2013 until June 2014.
Powers
The powers of royal commissions in Australia are set out in the enabling legislation, the .
The Royal Commissions Amendment Act 2013 was approved by Parliament to give the Child Abuse Royal Commission additional powers to fulfil its terms of reference. Notable changes were: Enabling the chair to authorise one or more members to hold a public or private hearing Authorise members of the royal commission to hold private sessions Royal commissions, appointed pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act or otherwise, have powers to issue a summons to a person to appear before the commission at a hearing to give evidence or to produce documents specified in the summons; require witnesses to take an oath or give an affirmation; and require a person to deliver documents to the commission at a specified place and time. A person served with a summons or a notice to produce documents must comply with that requirement, or face prosecution for an offence. The penalty for conviction upon such an offence is a fine of or six months imprisonment. A royal commission may authorise the Australian Federal Police to execute search warrants.
Submissions