Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth is among two senior Anglican leaders who have apologised for the way they dealt with reports of child sexual abuse.

Giving evidence to a royal commission hearing on Wednesday, Dr Hollingworth said his failure to take action against then-priest John Elliot heightened the distress for a victim, a man who cannot be named for legal reasons.

"I want to make an apology to (the victim) and to all the members of his family for the way which his complaint of abuse against John Elliot was handled when it was first referred to me as archbishop of Brisbane in 1993," Dr Hollingworth told the commission hearing in Hobart.

"After a great deal of consideration over the past 22 years I acknowledge unreservedly that my actions were misguided, wrong and a serious error of judgment and that I genuinely regret it."

He added that he did not understand the repercussions of child sexual abuse.

"I failed to make your needs my absolute first priority," he said.

"Instead, I was overly concerned for the needs of Elliot and his family and those of the parish.

"Instead of removing Elliot from his ministry I took the approach I thought would ensure Elliot would not abuse again."

Archbishop of the diocese of Brisbane from 1990 to 2001, Dr Hollingworth became governor-general in June 2001, a position he relinquished in 2003 in response to the church's handling of the abuse allegations.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was told on Wednesday that Dr Hollingworth was visited by the victim in August, 1993.

He complained of repeated sexual abuse at the hands of Elliot during earlier years when he was aged eight to 13 and was associated with the Church of England Boys' Society.

He had contact with the then-preacher at Brisbane's St Barnabas church at Sunnybank on an almost weekly basis during those years.

"On nearly all of those occasions, Elliot sexually abused me," the victim said in evidence on Wednesday.

Elliot served as rector at the Dalby parish until his retirement in 1996, three years after the victim took his complaint to Dr Hollingworth.

The commission went on to hear from Bishop Ian George who was head of the diocese of Adelaide from 1991 to 2004.

During that time the church received reports of offences linked to the boys' society, including against Robert Brandenburg, who died in 1999 before he could face court charged with 34 counts of unlawful sexual intercourse and 341 counts of indecent assault.

"I wish to express my deep sense of remorse that sexual abuse occurred within the Anglican church of Australia and the diocese of Adelaide in particular," Bishop George said.

"I'm deeply sorry the church did not protect children and indeed provided an avenue and an opportunity for someone like Brandenburg to abuse so many."