Commission of Inquiry findings 'hampered' by Tasmanian laws

In the first volume of its final report, the commission stated that it faced challenges in how the Commission of Inquiry Act intersected with the State Service Act which allowed government lawyers to argue that adverse findings could not be made against some public servants.

It said commissioners received evidence or information that implicated individuals after their public hearings were held or as they were close to finalising their report.

READ MORE on the Commission of Inquiry findings

They noted pursuing an adverse finding would be time-consuming and extend the inquiry's timeline to the detriment of victim-survivors.

It said it would also take them away from the important work of designing recommendations for the government.

"As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about how we wrote our report and framed our findings," the commission said.

"This involved balancing the public interest in holding individuals and systems to account with the public interest in prioritising effort and funding to tangible changes to protect children.

"Given our grave concerns about Ashley Youth Detention Centre, we felt we could not afford to delay our findings and recommendations.

"As a result, we could not pursue some issues in detail."

Labor in parliament this week put forward a motion which in part demanded that the government commission an independent review of the issues raised by the Commission of Inquiry in volume one of the report.

Labor leader Rebecca White said the commission had the difficult task to balance matters brought to their attention with the objective to deliver a report two years in the making to give some direction about how to improve child safety in out-of-care homes, schools, hospitals and in youth justice.

She said the government needed to take steps to hold people to account who had been protected by legal arguments or because they had resigned and could no longer be bound by the state service's code of conduct.

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said the code of conduct made it impossible for the commission to make some findings that they would otherwise have made and that they could not pursue some issues in detail.

The government successfully moved an amendment the motion for it to present to parliament options for a review of challenges by October 17.

On the matter of legal representation, government minister Guy Barnett said all state service employees could apply for their costs for legal representation to be covered by the state on the basis that they had acted in good faith in the course of their employment.

"It doesn't mean they're granted immunity from other legal processes that may arise from the hearings of the Commission of Inquiry," he said.

Mr Barnett said an indemnity and legal assistance panel considered requests for legal assistance.

He said now the Commission of Inquiry's report had been finalised, the legal assistance grants would be reviewed in light of the commission's evidence and findings.

Mr Barnett said if it was determined that a public servant had not acted in good faith during their employment, the legal costs would be recovered.

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