Ms Archer said a commission of inquiry was "essentially the same as a royal commission", and the establishment of such an instrument was "no simple task".

"The CoI is expected to commence later this month and to ensure it is fully empowered to undertake its inquiry, I will introduce a number of amendments to the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1995 and other related legislation to the parliament soon," she said.

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"Our changes will ensure our act is amongst the most powerful in the country and that our CoI is the strongest it can possibly be. The proposed amendments have been identified in consultation with the proposed president of the CoI, the Hon. Marcia Neave AO, and will ensure private hearings will be able to be held, as well as refer matters to authorities when required."

"Work has also started to consider the functional requirements of the commission of inquiry, including leadership, staffing, appropriate premises and any additional services, including support services, required to assist the operations of the CoI."

The commission of inquiry is intended to support the work of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which made more than 400 recommendations in 2017 to improve prevention measures and responses to institutional child sexual abuse in Australia.

Premier Peter Gutwein announced the commission of inquiry last November, after it emerged that a former nurse at the Launceston General Hospital, James Geoffrey Griffin, was an accused paedophile.

Since late last year, fourteen state service employees have been stood down due to allegations of child sexual abuse.

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