The Royal Commission held a public hearing in Sydney from Wednesday 6 to Friday 15 May 2015.

The public hearing inquired into the policies and procedures of the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission, the then NSW Medical Board, the Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales Ministry of Health and the Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria to allegations of child sexual abuse in private medical practices and public hospitals.

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

1. The experience of a number of patients of health care services in New South Wales who were sexually abused as children in:
   
   1. private medical practices; and
   2. public hospitals.
2. The experience of a number of complainants who made complaints against a medical practitioner to the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) and the then New South Wales Medical Board.
3. The systems, policies, practices and procedures for receiving, investigating and responding to complaints against medical practitioners of child sexual abuse of:
   
   1. the HCCC;
   2. the Medical Council of New South Wales; and
   3. the Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney.
4. The experience of an outpatient who alleges child sexual abuse by a psychologist at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Northern Sydney in the late 1960’s.
5. The systems, policies and procedures of the Northern Sydney Local Health District and New South Wales Ministry of Health for preventing, detecting and responding to child sexual abuse.
6. The experience of an inpatient who alleged child sexual abuse by a volunteer at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne in the early 1980’s.
7. The response of The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria to an allegation of child sexual abuse made against a hospital volunteer.
8. The systems, policies and procedures of The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria for preventing, detecting and responding to child sexual abuse.
9. Any related matters.