Child abuse inquiry opens in Sydney

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse opens in Sydney this week. The inquiry will focus on how three NSW organisations - Scouts Australia, Hunter Aboriginal Children's Services, and the NSW Department of Community Services - handled allegations about convicted pedophile Steve Larkins. The hearings are open to the public, and are expected to run all week.

Background to the Royal Commission

Larkins formerly served as chief executive of a Newcastle-based foster care agency for Aboriginal children. Though sex abuse allegations were leveled against him in the 1990s, he was not revealed as a child sex offender until 2011, during a police investigation into child pornography claims. He has since been jailed for these offences.

The commissioners will investigate what checks, if any, were carried out on Larkins' suitability to exercise parental responsibilities for vulnerable Aboriginal children.

The Legislation

The opening of the hearing coincides with the commencement of the Royal Commissions and Ombudsman Legislation Amendment Act 2013 (NSW). The Act, assented on 12th September, will address a number of issues relating to Royal Commissions:

• Ensure witnesses appearing before a Royal Commission are not excused from answering questions or producing documents when required by the Commission.

• Ensure the identity of a person who makes a report that a child or young person is at risk of significant harm may be disclosed to a Royal Commission in only limited circumstances. 

• Enable a Royal Commission to give directions preventing the publication of evidence given to it, and directions requiring any part of an inquiry to take place in private,

• Enable the Ombudsman to disclose information, obtained in the course of an investigation, for the purpose of certain criminal proceedings resulting from the investigation and for the purpose of certain proceedings under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994.

As the Minister stated in his Second Reading Speech, this Act makes further amendments to facilitate the work of the National Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, in particular the Royal Commission's powers to compel production of documents and the fact that this overrides all other secrecy and privacy related obligations.

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Royal Commissions and Ombudsman Legislation Amendment Act 2013 via LawOne by TimeBase