Abstract:
The Prime Minister's announcement of a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and the issuing of Letters Patent by the Governor-General on January 11, 2013, were historic steps acknowledging the extent of institutional abuse in Australia and towards the prevention of abuse in the future. The scope of the terms of reference, limited as they are to institutional responses to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse and not the abuse itself, has generated considerable public debate. What has not yet been addressed in detail is the question of whether the appointment of serving judges of State and Commonwealth courts to the Royal Commission is constitutionally valid.