What the Tasmanian Government is doing

We are taking strong action to uphold the rights of children and young people and keep them safe. Our strategy, Change for Children, which includes our first two-year Action Plan, puts the child at the centre of all that we do. It sets up our pathway for taking meaningful action at individual, organisational and community levels by preventing, identifying and responding to child sexual abuse.

We know we have a lot of work to do. Change for Children goes beyond the six-year program of work already committed by government to deliver on all 191 recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and outlines a 10-year plan to develop, implement, monitor, evaluate and report on our progress. Change will take time and we want to make sure we do things properly.

These are the first steps, not the last. Lasting change will take an ongoing, dedicated commitment and sustained long term effort. It will take all parts of the system working together and partnerships between government and community to ensure children are safe in places where they live, play, learn and heal. True reform will require the commitment of all Tasmanians.

Our progress

Ongoing communication with children and young people, victim-survivors and all members of the Tasmanian community is fundamental for making real change and being accountable. We regularly report on our progress on our 'Recommendation status' page. Our latest news can be found on our 'Latest updates' page.

Download and read Immediate Change: Recommendations to be implemented by 1 July (Phase 1) Progress report:

Our strategy and action plan

The Change for Children Strategy and the first two-year Action Plan, Collaborating for Change:

outlines the desired system that Tasmania seeks to respond to child sexual abuse. This is based on our learnings from the Commission’s recommendations and broader initiatives, reforms and recommendations.
are developed with children and young people and adult victim-survivors of child sexual abuse.
sets out considerations relevant to other key groups, including Aboriginal children and young people, children with a disability, children with a mental illness, children who identify as LGBTIQA+, and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

This strategy and action plan can be found on the 'Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan' page. Feedback on this strategy and action plan can be provided by emailing changeforchildren@dpac.tas.gov.au. Consultation is open until 30 September, 2024. More information on the submissions process is available on the 'Change for Children Strategy and Action Plan' page.

Our response

On 1 December 2023, the Tasmanian Government released Keeping Children Safe and Rebuilding Trust. This provided the Government’s preliminary response to the Final Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.

More information can be found on the Government Response page.