Education Minister and Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff announced on Thursday the state government would establish an independent inquiry to ensure the public education system was doing all it could to protect children and young people from child sexual abuse.

"The purpose of this inquiry is to examine past systems and whether the legislation, policies, practices and procedures utilised by the Department of Education now operate in a way that minimises the risk of child sexual abuse within Tasmanian government schools," Mr Rockliff said.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of young people in our care."

The department in past decades would move actual or suspected paedophiles from school to school or job to job after complaints were made, sometimes over decades.

Lawyer Sebastian Buscemi, of Angela Sdrinis Legal, said in May he had clear evidence of the department protecting two child molesting teachers, and there were possibly at least 10 such cases.

Of the two "definites", one was jailed several years ago for sexually abusing children in the North-West in the 1970s and 1980s.

The other was Hobart paedophile Darrel George Harington, who was jailed earlier this year.

He molested children over decades and was retained by the department despite it knowing of repeated allegations.

Mr Buscemi said he had evidence some senior people in the department - and possibly even some government ministers - were aware of some of the abuse allegations against teachers at the time.

Mr Rockliff on Thursday said: "In recent years the Tasmanian government has undertaken significant reforms to protect children in response to cases of abuse that were highlighted both through the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and prior to."

"This includes introducing the registration to work with vulnerable people registration process and mandatory report obligations for all Department of Education staff."

He said the department was implementing or had implemented 23 department-specific recommendations from the royal commission.

"However, I believe we need assurance that the safeguards we have in place today are the best they can be," he said.

"The inquiry will be a way of testing if, when all relevant recommendations of the royal commission are implemented, there are any further actions the department needs to take.

"It is important to note that the inquiry will complement and not replicate the work of the royal commission.

"I want to make sure we are doing absolutely everything possible to protect children and to provide some comfort and, if possible, closure to survivors of child sexual abuse.

"Our thoughts are with people who have been harmed by sexual abuse and I acknowledge that the work of the royal commission and the Tasmanian government's response will be distressing for some."

Former state Labor minister Allison Ritchie, of advocacy group People Protecting Children, has been calling for years for a proper investigation of the department's past practices involving paedophile teachers.

She said in May she believed the department protected at least five sex predator teachers by moving them from school to school and/or job to job in past decades and expected there would have been more.

Tasmanian Greens Leader Cassy O'Connor has also been pushing for an inquiry.

She was encouraged when Mr Rockliff in May said " ... of course I would be open to exploring other avenues that would ensure justice and closure."

Ms O'Connor said at the time: "It's clear the Deputy Premier recognises the gravity of the situation and the pain of those who suffered abuse."

Mr Rockliff urged people who needed support to contact: