1 May 2025

Guy Barnett,

Consultation is now open on the Commissions of Inquiry Amendment (Private Sessions Information) Bill 2025.

The Bill will remove barriers to individuals accessing the information they provided to or for a private session with the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings (the Commission).

Private sessions are confidential meetings where people can share their experiences with a Commission of Inquiry. The Commission held more than 120 private sessions across 2021 – 2023.

These sessions are not ‘evidence’ for a Commission, but a protected way that a Commission can learn about a matter.

The strict confidentiality and protections around private sessions are designed to encourage people to engage with a Commission and to provide a forum that is less formal or intimidating.

Currently, the records of a private session cannot be provided to the participant unless they, and any person they spoke or wrote about, consent to that information being disclosed.

The Commissions of Inquiry Amendment (Private Sessions Information) Bill 2025 proposes to address this issue, by amending the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1995 to:

  • allow private session information to be recorded or used by, or disclosed to, the person who gave the information at the private session of the Commission and to a member of the Commission for the purposes of a private session or proposed private session; and
  • ensure these amendments apply retrospectively to the records of the Commission as well as any future Tasmanian Commission of Inquiry.

Attorney-General Guy Barnett said the Tasmanian Government is committed to implementing reforms to assist victim-survivors of child sexual abuse.

“We are taking action to remove and reduce legal or administrative barriers on victim-survivors where possible,” the Attorney General said.

The draft Bill, supporting information and details of how to make a submission are available on the Department of Justice website - www.justice.tas.gov.au/community-consultation

Submissions close on 30 April 2025.