Religious Confessional to Stay Sacred in Victoria As State Government Susses out National Approach
By Danny Tran and Richard Willingham
Admissions of child abuse will continue to be protected by the seal of the confessional in the state of Victoria, after the Andrews Government stopped short of adopting one of the key recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The State Government has indicated it needs more time to consider the proposal from the royal commission, which has called for the sanctity of the confessional to be tossed aside and replaced with powerful new mandatory reporting laws. The laws would force members of the religious clergy to report any suspicions or explicit confessions of child abuse to police, but their implementation has been met with powerful resistance from the Catholic Church. The Government has previously agreed to work towards a national approach to the confessional. The Attorney-General, Martin Pakula, said privilege on religious confessions was set out in Victorian law. "The meeting of Attorneys General in Perth agreed that … a national response was desirable, and commissioned further work to develop a nationally consistent approach on this important issue," he said. Lawyer Judy Courtin, who represents survivors of clerical sexual abuse, said Victoria was a frontrunner when it came to issues of institutional abuse and did not need to wait for other states to act. "I'm very very surprised, and I find it quite curious really that Victoria once again has the opportunity to lead the way and it's not doing so," she said. "This is an opportunity… to show the rest of the country that it means business, and really what's it's doing is putting the interests and the needs of children above everything else." Mandatory reporting list to be expanded The Government's position on mandatory reporting is one of 24 recommendations it is giving "further consideration". Mr Pakula said there was more to be done on working with children checks, which required national co-operation. The Government has accepted 128 royal commission recommendations in full and a further 165 recommendations in principle. Child care workers, youth justice workers, school councillors and psychologists will now be included in mandatory reporting laws. They will be required to report a "reasonable belief" that a sexual offence has been committed, unless they have a "reasonable excuse" for not doing so, such as a fear for their safety. Doctors, police, teachers and nurses are already required to report any suspicion of child abuse. It will also be a crime for adults within organisations who have the power to protect a child from being abused, but fail to do so.
And, with the November state election nearing, it is also using the opportunity to trumpet a suite of legal measures aimed at child abuse survivors. "We have delivered a number of recommendations … to make sure that survivors of institutional child sexual abuse receive the recognition, respect and support they deserve," said Mr Pakula. The Government has also scrapped the statute of limitations on civil actions and scrapped what was known as the 'Ellis defence', which means unincorporated organisations like churches must nominate a defendant with assets in the event they are sued. "We will continue to work with the Commonwealth, states and territories to progress recommendations that require national action," Mr Pakula said.
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