Sessions with a Commissioner
Sessions have now concluded.
The sessions have concluded ahead of the final report.
If you have a question about the Commission, please contact the Community Engagement Team.
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Sessions provided participants the opportunity to speak directly with a Commissioner about their experience and any views they may have had about what needs to change to prevent child sexual abuse and improve responses to, and reporting of, abuse. Information provided at sessions is assisting the Commission to understand the current gaps in the Tasmanian Government’s responses to child sexual abuse and will help the Commission to make recommendations for change.
Sessions were held with:
- victim-survivors of child sexual abuse
- family, friends and supporters of victim-survivors of child sexual abuse, and
- people who wish to provide information directly to a Commissioner, such as information regarding child sexual abuse that has occurred at a Tasmanian government institution.
The Commission determined who was able to attend a session based on the nature of the information a participant wished to share and its relevance to the scope of the inquiry.
Sessions were held from August 2021 until February 2023 in locations around Tasmania. Sessions were also conducted online.
What happens at a session?
Sessions enabled participants to speak directly with a Commissioner. Sessions usually ran for up to an hour and the participant decided how they would like to use the time available and what they would like to speak to a Commissioner about.
In a session, the room would usually only include the following people:
- a Commissioner
- a Commission staff member
- the participant who is giving information at that session, and
- the participant’s support person of their choosing.
If a participant had a lawyer and wanted them to attend the session, they were able to do so. Any support person who attended a session must keep any information disclosed at the session confidential.
A qualified counsellor or psychologist was available to support participants before and after the session.
Can information be provided confidentially?
Yes. The Commission respected the wishes of any person who wished to provide information privately to the Commission.
Participants decided if they wanted their session to be conducted as a private session. A private session was run in the same way as other sessions, but the information provided was treated confidentially.
Private sessions were held in accordance with the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1995 (Tas). Information given to the Commission at a private session will not be used in the Commission’s final report unless that information:
- was also formally given in evidence to the Commission other than at a private session (for example, in a written submission or at a public hearing), or
- did not disclose the identity of, or lead to the identification of, the participant.
More information is available in these fact sheets:
- How the Commission will handle the information you provide (PDF, 326.4 KB)
- How will my information be handled? (PDF, 118.5 KB)
What protections does a person have if they provide information?
In providing information to the Commission, participants also have rights and protections under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1995 (Tas).
Find out more at the Protections and support page.