In December 2012, Prime Minister Gillard announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sexual abuse of children in Australia. The official name of the Royal Commission is the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
The Royal Commission is inquiring into how institutions with a responsibility for children have managed and responded to allegations and instances of child sexual abuse. It is investigating where systems have failed to protect children, and make recommendations on how to improve laws, policies and practices to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in institutions.
The Commissioners can look at any private, public or non-government organisation that is, or was in the past, involved with children, including government agencies, schools, sporting clubs, orphanages, foster care, and religious organisations. This includes where they consider an organisation caring for a child is responsible for the abuse or for not responding appropriately, regardless of where or when the abuse took place.
The Royal Commission is looking at places where Aboriginal children have lived as a priority. They encourage Aboriginal Legal Services, Aboriginal controlled organisations, communities and people of interest to help them to identify institutions where there has been child sexual abuse and to ask people to come forward.