Royal Commission

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission) was formally established on 11 January 2013. It inquired into how institutions with a responsibility for children managed and responded to allegations and instances of child sexual abuse.

The Royal Commission listened to survivors and victims of institutional child sexual abuse and their families and supporters. It found that more needs to be done to prevent and protect children from sexual abuse in institutions. On 15 December 2017, the Royal Commission released its final report. It made 409 recommendations on how to improve laws, policies and practices to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in institutions.

For more information, visit the  Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse  website.

The National Office for Child Safety was established on 1 July 2018 in response to the Royal Commission. To find out how we are leading the development and implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission, see the What we do page.

Response to the Royal Commission

On 13 June 2018, the Australian Government tabled its response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The Australian Government, state and territory governments and a number of institutions reported on their implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations from 2018 to 2022.

Find out more about the Australian Government Response to the Royal Commission (TROVE), including access to the progress reports. 

National Apology

On 22 October 2018, the former Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, delivered the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse. To find out more about the National Apology, including how to order memorabilia, visit the National Apology page.