ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay will not say whether Canberra would consider going it alone to force the church to report sex abuse disclosed in the confessional.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Ramsay said the ACT was reviewing its reportable conduct scheme, which only became law in July with a view to extending it. At the moment the scheme, which forces employers to report allegations, offences or convictions related to children within 30 days, excludes sports clubs, churches, scouts and girl guides, universities and swimming or dance academies.
Mr Ramsay said the government was "looking to expand" the scheme to ensure it included everyone caring for vulnerable people.
But asked about a recommendation of the royal commission into child sexual abuse this week that would force churches to report abuse disclosed in confession, Mr Ramsay was not clear.
The government was considering the recommendations and would make sure the survivor was "placed at the centre", he said.
"The most important thing we can do is protect our vulnerable people," he said. "There are times over the years when we have placed other things as more important than vulnerable people and what we have seen through the royal commission is that there have been terrible outcomes out of that.
"We need to make sure that the vulnerable person is always placed at the centre, that's the response of a civilised society, a compassionate society."
But when pushed on whether the ACT would go it alone on confessional laws if other states didn't move on the issue, he said the ACT was "already a nation setter" and it was important to have a unified response across the country as much as possible.
"Having different responses across Australia has been difficult for victims, difficult for survivors. It's important for us to be able to place the person at the centre and work collaboratively across the jurisdictions," he said.
Greens spokeswoman Caroline Le Couteur called on the government to bring churches under the reportable conduct scheme. It made no sense to exempt them, she said.
"The church should not be above the law. It's very clear from the royal commission that many instances of child sexual abuse did occur in religious institutions and so there is absolutely no reason whatsoever why they should be exempted," she said. "We should be looking out for our children ... It's clear that the current system is not working and we need to prioritise children above religious institutions."
