Legislation to amend the Royal Commissions Act 1902 has been introduced into Federal Parliament. The bill will enable one or more of the six commissioners to conduct hearings. At present, the Act only allows hearings to be conducted by all six commissioners sitting together or by a quorum. The bill will also allow the commissioners to hear child sexual abuse victims in less formal private sessions with a support person present; victims can remain anonymous and information which could be used to identify them will not be used. They will not have to give their evidence under oath. The new legislation will formalise these features which have been talked about in the media over the last three months.
Changes to Legislation
