12 December 2019

Elise Archer, Attorney-General

Protecting Tasmania's most vulnerable

The Hodgman majority Liberal Government has today released its Second Annual Progress Report and Action Plan 2020 for implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

This report provides details of the Hodgman Government’s ongoing work to prevent child sexual abuse, protect vulnerable people, and strengthen child sexual abuse laws.

This year the Hodgman Government has undertaken a number of significant law reforms arising from the recommendations of the Royal Commission including:

• the implementation of a number of criminal justice recommendations, including a new crime of failing to report child abuse and the abrogation of the confessional privilege for the purposes of the new crime and mandatory reporting obligations; and
• the implementation of a number of the Royal Commission’s civil litigation recommendations, including the introduction of a statutory duty on organisations engaged in children-related services and reforms to enable the identification of a proper defendant.

There has also been significant progress in a number of larger reform projects which will continue during 2020, including:

• finalising the scope of a 3-year Pilot Intermediary Scheme for Tasmania;
• finalising the scope of a legislative framework for Child Safe Organisations in Tasmania, incorporating the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Principles for Child Safe Organisations and the Royal Commission’s Child Safe Standards;
• finalising the plans for the redevelopment of the Ashley Youth Detention Centre; and
• finalising key deliverables under the Out-of-Home Care Foundations Project.

This ongoing and proactive work by the Hodgman Government has been recognised by stakeholders, with feedback received stating that:

“The sum total of the above legislative initiatives places Tasmania amongst the most proactive States in terms of implementing the important recommendations of the Royal Commission.”

The Hodgman majority Liberal Government is committed to keeping Tasmanians safe, better protecting our vulnerable children and supporting victims who have been affected.

The report can be found on the Department of Justice’s website.

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