Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence to deliver findings in August

A brief extension has been granted to South Australia’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

The Royal Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja AO will now deliver her final report to the Governor in mid-August.

Since its commencement in July last year, the Royal Commission has undertaken significant engagement across the state, including 10 days of public hearings, hearing from 64 witnesses over 48 sessions.

The Commission has held more than 170 listening sessions across the state, including in communities including the APY Lands, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, Port Pirie/Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Kangaroo Island, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Ceduna, the Riverland and Murraylands.

The Royal Commission also received more than 380 formal submissions and more than 800 responses to its Share With Us survey.

The Commission will today upload to its website the submissions received from individuals and organisations who have given permission to publish.

Requests for further submissions and engagement prompted the Commission to schedule additional listening sessions.

The scale of this engagement has necessitated an adjustment to the Royal Commission’s timeframes, to enable the Commission to complete its work in July, with the report finalised and printed in August.

The terms and budget of the inquiry will remain unchanged.

The Royal Commission was established to inquire into five key themes: Prevention, Early Intervention, Response, Recovery and Healing, and Coordination.

Quotes

Attributable to Peter Malinauskas

Domestic violence is a scourge, and it is unfortunately all too pervasive in our society.
We cannot tolerate it. But to end it, we need to ensure we have our systems and frameworks appropriately geared.

The work of this Royal Commission will be crucial to making sure we can deliver. And to that end, we need to ensure all the evidence that has been heard is appropriately considered.

I’m very grateful to Natasha Stott Despoja AO, for the thorough and comprehensive effort she and her staff have undertaken to prepare this final report.