Key trends and lessons from Australian Royal Commissions and Inquiries

Over the last five years, a number of high-profile Royal Commissions have inquired into a range of important issues, including child sexual abuse, home insulation, trade unions, family violence, nuclear fuel and child detention. What lessons can be drawn from the history and practice of Royal Commissions and other inquiries in Australia?

Royal Commissions have served an important role of informing successive governments, both in an inquisitorial and policy context. They are an option for responding to a crisis and a call for action, as well as a mechanism for developing public policy.

Over the past six months, Corrs has conducted extensive research into the history of Royal Commissions and inquiries at a Commonwealth level, as well as in New South Wales and Victoria (including New South Wales special commissions of inquiry and Victorian boards of inquiry). In this article, we set out some of the major findings from our research, including what we see as the key