The Royal Commission held a public hearing in Sydney from Tuesday 2 to Wednesday 10 December 2014. Oral submissions were held on Wednesday 29 April 2015.

The public hearing inquired into the response of Satyananda Yoga Ashram to allegations of child sexual abuse by the Ashram’s former spiritual leader in the 1970s and 1980s.

The scope and purpose of the public hearing was to inquire into:

1. The response between 1974 and 2014 of the Satyananda Yoga Ashram at Mangrove Mountain, New South Wales, to allegations or reports of child sexual abuse made against Swami Akhandananda Saraswati.

2. The operation of the Ashram between 1974 and 1989 in relation to matters of child sexual abuse.

3. The systems, policies and procedures in place at the Ashram between 1974 and 1989, and currently, in relation to raising and responding to allegations of or concerns about child sexual abuse.

4. Any related matters.