Counting the costs of a Royal Commission

The 2013-14 Federal Budget has allocated $434.1 million over four years (including $66.8 million in 2012-13 and the already announced $43.2 million of capital funding for counseling and support) to fund the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission). The Australian Government has identified the inquiry by the Royal Commission as a key priority for this year's Federal Budget. In delivering the Budget, Federal Treasurer, the Hon Wayne Swan MP, explained that the Australian Government has provided the Royal Commission "with the resources required to go about its important work and ensure survivors have the support they need." Commitment of resources of this size, making up close to two-thirds of the Attorney-General's portfolio, raises questions about why royal commissions are frequently considered appropriate in Australia as independent bodies of inquiry and the effect such continued implementation could have on the