Details

The Special Commission of Inquiry investigated (1) the circumstances in which Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox was asked to cease investigating relevant matters and whether it was appropriate to do so; and (2) whether, and the extent to which, officials of the Catholic Church facilitated, assisted, or co-operated with, Police investigations of relevant matters, including whether any investigation has been hindered or obstructed by, amongst other things, the failure to report alleged criminal offences, the discouraging of witnesses to come forward, the alerting of alleged offenders to possible police actions, or the destruction of evidence.

The Process
Private hearings, public hearings, review of documentary evidence, community information meetings.

Governing Legislation
Special Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1983.

Governing Authority
State Government of New South Wales (NSW).

Inquiry Locations
The Inquiry was held in Newcastle in NSW, Australia.

Public Hearings
Public hearings were the main means by which the Commission heard evidence and upon which it based its findings. Separate hearings were held into the Inquiry's two distinct Terms of Reference. There were 8 weeks of public hearings involving 44 witnesses. In camera hearings were also held with 32 witnesses, many of whom had given evidence in the public hearings.

Private Sessions
The Commission held more than 100 private hearings involving 95 witnesses. 51 private hearings took place with victims and/or their families.

Written Submissions
Written submissions were received from people authorised to appear at public hearings, and from people seeking to provide information on child sexual abuse, including from victim/survivors. A list of submissions was not published.

Research
The Commission examined over 100,000 pages of documents.

Witnesses
Witnesses at the public hearings are predominantly police officers and people associated with the church.

Institutions
Institutions covered by the Inquiry include churches, schools and the police.

Findings
The Commission rejected Peter Fox's allegations in relation to inadequacies in police investigation, but found that the Catholic Church did have information that could have assisted the police investigation..

Recommendations
The Commission delivered findings rather than recommendations.

Further Action
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was announced soon after the announcement of the Special Commission of Inquiry. Information sharing procedures were established at this point.

Related Inquiries
RCIRCSA