bipacsa_final_report

In a second round of consultations, the Inquiry held
regional forums in Katherine, Nhulunbuy, Darwin
and Alice Springs, to which delegates of Aboriginal
communities and organisations were invited to attend,
with costs being met by the Inquiry. This gave the Inquiry
an opportunity to present the findings from its earlier
consultations, to confirm these with delegates and to
workshop those themes and issues.
Many communities expressed appreciation for the
manner in which the meetings were conducted, the fact
that “senior people from government” (the Inquiry Co-
Chairs) came to the communities, and that the Inquiry
talked with, rather than to, communities.
Information requests – NT Government agencies
The Inquiry met with the chief executives of each of
the principal NT Government agencies with a role
in responding to child sexual abuse, these being the
Department of Health and Community Services,
Police, Fire and Emergency Services, the Department of
Employment, Education and Training and the Department
of Justice. The Inquiry invited them to make written
submissions and met with a range of officers from these
agencies during the course of investigations.
As part of its information gathering processes, the Inquiry
requested a range of briefing materials and information
from various agencies, including summaries of individual
child sexual abuse cases and unpublished aggregate case
data. A number of agencies also made presentations to
the Inquiry. In December 2006, the Inquiry wrote to all
NT Government agencies requesting they complete a
questionnaire on awareness and training in relation to
(1) mandatory reporting requirements and indicators of
child abuse and neglect and (2) the extent to which “child
safe” work practices and policies existed in agencies. Most
agencies responded to this request. Although in general
terms, agency awareness and policies in these areas could
have been greater, the Inquiry was pleased to note that
some agencies were prompted by the questionnaire to
initiate training or other work in these areas. The Inquiry
believes it is critical that government, as the single
biggest employer in the Territory, take the lead in terms
of ensuring employees who have contact with children
in any capacity in the workplace are aware of mandatory
reporting requirements. It also sees as critical, the need
Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle “Little Children are Sacred”
for all workplaces to have at least a basic child safe policy
to protect children who may come onto work premises or
with whom staff have contact through their duties.
The Inquiry also requested the Department of Health and
Community Services and NT Police, Fire and Emergency
Services to produce 20 individual case summaries that
highlighted case outcomes and elements of interagency
practice. The summaries also identified issues or “lessons
learned”, as identified by the agencies themselves.
Submissions
Overall, 65 written submissions were received by the
Inquiry, including 11 from NT and Australian government
agencies, committees, councils and commissions. The
level of response reflected the interest and concern those
organisations and individuals had in relation to the issue
of child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities, but also
reflected interest in the broader agenda of preventing all
forms of maltreatment for all Australian children, and a
desire to uphold or promote the rights of all children and
young people.
A list of people and organisations who provided
submissions is at Appendix 3. All individuals making
a submission were given the opportunity to choose
not to be identified publicly (in some cases, this was to
ensure the personal safety of the individual). In such
cases, no references have been made in this report to the
individual concerned.
Information storage
The Inquiry ensured that any material collected as
part of the Inquiry and relating to individual cases,
was kept secret, stored securely and used in a manner
that preserved client confidentiality at all times. At the
conclusion of the Inquiry, all records will be archived and
will be subject to the highest level of ongoing security
and confidentiality.
Managing information requests, complaints and
reports of suspected abuse and maltreatment
There were two key aspects to working with the wider
government sector – developing protocols for information-
sharing and working within the framework for dealing with
requests regarding suspected abuse and maltreatment and
complaints against government agencies.