Dear Victorian Department of Education’s Restorative Engagement - Information and Support team, Victorian Minister for Health, Victorian Minister for Children, and Victorian Minister for Victims.

The Beaumaris And Surrounding Communities - Child Sexual Abuse Survivors And Families community group, represents some of the ~28.5% of Victorians who have been sexually abused as children. 

We have just read the deeply troubling Public Accounts and Estimates Committee,  2023‒24 financial and performance outcome, Report April 2025, on the Government's shoocking failure to implement recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. Prompting us to repeat previous requests, and initiate a new request.

1. New Request.
   Lack of transparency and ongoing reporting by the Victorian Government, on the implementation of the recommendations of the Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School and certain other government schools. 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟔 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. 

   The Victorian Government page which provides information on the Board of Inquiry recommendations – implementation progress, lacks the following details for each recommendation:

   (a) Planned Implementation date
   (b) Status – yet to commence/in progress/implemented
   (c) Progress % complete, early/on track/delayed, milestones achieved

   We are requesting that the Victorian Government commence reporting in detail, against the Board of Inquiry into historical child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School and certain other government schools recommendations, until all recommendations that have either been accepted or require further analysis are fulfilled or responded to, via an online resource. 

   
   
2. Beaumaris And Surrounding Communities - Child Sexual Abuse Survivors And Families  petition (this petition). Services & supports for survivors & communities impacted by child sexual abuse.
   
   Since our petition started on 1 February 2022, numerous requests to meet with the Victorian Minister for Health have been ignored. Our petition asks for the Victorian and Federal government to pilot in full, the implementation of Recommendation 9.1 of The 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (Royal Commission).
   
   Recommendation 9.1:
   "The Australian Government and state and territory governments should fund dedicated community support services for victims and survivors in each jurisdiction, to provide an integrated model of advocacy and support and counselling to children and adults who experienced childhood sexual abuse in institutional contexts. Funding and related agreements should require and enable these services to:
   
   a. be trauma-informed and have an understanding of institutional child sexual abuse
   b. be collaborative, available, accessible, acceptable and high quality
   c. use case management and brokerage to coordinate and meet service needs
   d. support and supervise peer-led support models.”
   
   The Victorian Government has only reported providing funding to Sexual Assault Services Victoria, in response to this recommendation. Which is not funding multiple services to be able to be ‘no wrong door’ to appropriately assess and support the disclosure of child sexual abuse.
   
   Our petition was tabled in Victorian Parliament by Stuart Grimley MP, and his associated speech was on 2 August 2022 in the Legislative Council.
   
   Despite this, and dozens of emails sent since February 2022, and support from Ms Zoe Daniel MP and Ms Rachel Payne MP’, we are yet to receive a response from the Victorian Minister of Health. Let alone her agreement to meet with us. We are still seeking Ms Catherine King MP’s support for our petition.
   
   Recommendation 9.1 relates specifically to integrated health and other services, which, as has happened in New Zealand and in the UK, their implementation is primarily a NHS/Department of Health responsibility.
   
   Why is this important? And why the lack of Victorian Government progress on implementation of the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, is so deeply troubling?
   
   Child maltreatment dramatically increases the odds of four serious mental disorders and of having a mental disorder. Emotional abuse and sexual abuse are most strongly related to mental disorders.
   
   We are repeating our request to meet with the Victorian Minister of Health, to talk about the piloting of Recommendation 9.1 of the Royal Commission, in two locations in Victoria. The Beaumaris/Bayside Melbourne and Ballarat communities.
   
3. Lack of transparency and ongoing reporting by the Victorian Government, on the implementation of the recommendations of the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
   
   After numerous emails and phone calls, attempting to establish the details of the Victorian Government’s performance relative to recommendation 9.1 of the Royal Commission, there was a realisation that, comparative to some other States and other commission and inquiries, this information wasn’t publicly available. 
   
   We worked with Stuart Grimley MP on the following motion, on 17 August 2022.
   
   "827 MR GRIMLEY — To move — That this House — (1) notes —
   
   (a) that the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse highlighted the unconscionable abuse of children and made bespoke recommendations to all states, where most criminal and civil laws regarding child sexual abuse are legislated;
   
   (b) the Government was required to report annually on its progress implementing these recommendations for five years following the Royal Commission, with the final report to be tabled in 2023, despite some recommendations not yet being addressed in their annual reporting;
   
   (c) the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia report their state’s overall implementation status of the Royal Commission recommendations, with South Australia and Tasmania reporting each recommendation’s status, as opposed to blanket statements, creating accountability and transparency about progress or lack thereof implementing particular recommendations;
   
   (d) the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence displays progress against each recommendation on their website, providing an excellent example of the way the Government could increase accountability and transparency;
   
   (2) calls on the Government to —
   
   (a) continue to report against the Royal Commission recommendations until all recommendations that have either been accepted, accepted in principle, or require further analysis are fulfilled or responded to; and
   
   (b) create an online resource where the public can see the Government’s progress on each recommendation, rather than as an annual document that excludes recommendations it has not implemented.”
   
   The Victorian Government has repeatedly failed to act on this motion, and thousands of Victorians who contributed to the Royal Commission, have no idea what difference sharing our stories made to the lives of millions of Victorian survivors and their families.
   
   We are requesting that the Victorian Government to continue to report against the Royal Commission recommendations until all recommendations that have either been accepted, accepted in principle, or require further analysis are fulfilled or responded to, via an online resource.

Thank you to all our supporters! Including the active support of a couple of MPs, Rachel Payne MP and Zoe Daniels MP.