State to respond twice to Commission of Inquiry's final report

The Tasmanian Premier updated parliament on Thursday about the process of the report's delivery, his government's response, and public access to the report.

The public should have access to the report by September 28.

Commissioners Marcia Neave, Leah Bromfield and Robert Benjamin will give their final report to the Governor of Tasmania Barbara Baker on August 31 after delivering a final address to the public on August 30.

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Premier Jeremy Rockliff said that the government will respond to the final report as soon as the Governor has completed her own review of the report.

He said that the report would be tabled in parliament within ten sitting days after August 31, which would be no later than September 28.

"I appreciate that there are victim-survivors and their supporters who are waiting on these recommendations, and therefore I will table the Final Report in the House of Assembly on the next available sitting day once the Governor's review is complete," Mr Rockliff said.

"The Government will provide an initial response to the recommendations. A more detailed Government response will however be released before the end of the year, including details on how we will implement, monitor and report to the public on the Commission's recommendations."

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Mr Rockliff warned that some parts of the report may be excluded from public disclosure based on public security, privacy of personal or financial affairs, or the right of a person to a fair trial, and that anything removed from the final report would be a decision made by the Governor.

He said his government remained committed to keep Tasmanian children and young people safe, and outlined the ways in which his government had already taken action.

This included the completion of 14 of the government's 30 interim actions announced in May last year.

The completed actions included actions to make widespread cultural change in the Tasmanian State Service through revised Performance Agreements, as well as instilling trauma-informed practices across the state service.

"We have made significant amendments to legislation to improve the prosecution of sexual offences, to hold people to account for failing to protect children and to provide better access to justice for those affected by sexual violence," Mr Rockliff said.

"Our Government has also taken significant steps to establish the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework to improve the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in institutional settings."

Mr Rockliff said the health department was also making strong progress on the 92 recommendations for improvement of child safety in Tasmanian hospitals.

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This included mandatory child safety training, recruitment of child safeguarding officers and a new statewide complaints system, and changes within state school systems.

"Our Government is also acutely aware of the need to ensure there is adequate resourcing to support the reforms that will be required," he said.

"Responding to the Commission's Final Report will require widespread and fundamental changes across Government agencies and systems."

Up to $30 million in state funding will be used for priority child safety action areas.

"Further funding allocations [are] to be made once the Commission's final recommendations are known," he said.

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