Key recommendations from the royal commission into child sexual abuse

The five-year Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse handed down its final report on Friday.

The report runs over 17 volumes and includes 189 new recommendations.

In total, the commissioners have made 409 recommendations, aimed at keeping children safe.

Here are their some of their key recommendations:

The final report has been widely welcomed.Credit: AAP

Introduce new laws

Religious ministers, out-of-home care workers, childcare workers, registered psychologists and school counsellors should be brought into line with police, doctors and nurses who are all obliged by law to report sexual abuse.

Open the confessional

Specifically, religious ministers should be forced to report information confided in them during a confession.

Introduce new criminal offences

Each state and territory government should create new criminal offences for failing to protect children from sexual abuse, and failing to report child sexual abuse in an institution.

The "failure to report" offence should apply if the person fails to report to police where they know, suspect, or should have suspected that an adult associated with the institution was sexually abusing or had sexually abused a child.

The "failure to protect" offence should apply if an adult knows that there is a substantial risk that another adult associated with the institution will commit a sexual offence against a child under the age of 17.

Make celibacy voluntary

The Australian Catholic Church should request permission from the Vatican to introduce voluntary celibacy for diocesan clergy.

Remove religious ministers convicted of sexual abuse

Any person in religious ministry who is the subject of a complaint of child sexual abuse which is substantiated or who is convicted of an offence relating to child sexual abuse should be permanently removed from the ministry

Schools should be liable

Schools could be sued for sexual abuse committed by their staff regardless of whether the school was negligent.

Introduce psychological testing

Candidates for religious ministry should undergo external psychological testing, including psycho-sexual assessment, for the purposes of determining their suitability to undertake work involving children.

Create a national office for child safety

The federal government should establish a national office for child safety that would be part of the Department Of Prime Minister And Cabinet. It's first job should be developing a national framework to prevent child sexual abuse, and it should become a statutory body within 18 months.

Introduce child safe standards

All institutions should implement a list of child safe standards identified by the royal commission, to be enforced by federal, state and territory governments.

Introduce national registers

Each religious organisation should consider establishing a national register which records information to assist affiliated institutions identify and respond to any risks to children that may be posed by people in religious or pastoral ministry.

Establish a legal service for victims

The federal government should establish and fund a legal advice and referral service for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.

Children must be kept out of adult prisons

Youth detention centres should consider using technology, such as CCTV and body-worn cameras, to film child/staff interactions. And children must be kept out of adult prisons.

Government should respond in six months

The federal government should respond to the royal commission's recommendations within six months. It should report on the implementation of the recommendations within 12 months. And in 10 years, there should be a review to examine whether the measures have been effective.

Create a national memorial

A national memorial should be commissioned by the federal government for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Victims and survivors should be consulted on the memorial design and it should be located in Canberra.

with AAP

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