The Royal Commission held a public hearing in Sydney from Monday 27 to Friday 31 March 2017.

The public hearing inquired into the nature, cause and impact of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts in Australia.

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

1. The nature of child sexual abuse and related matters in institutional contexts in Australia and how community understanding of abuse has changed over time.
2. The extent of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts historically and in contemporary Australia, and challenges to identification and prevention.
3. The factors that contribute to the risk of child sexual abuse in institutional contexts:
   
   1. factors that make all children vulnerable to sexual abuse and heighten the vulnerability of particular groups of children to sexual abuse
   2. factors that may contribute to people sexually abusing children in institutional contexts
   3. institution-specific factors that may contribute to child sexual abuse.
4. The impacts of child sexual abuse and institutional responses on survivors, both in childhood and throughout their adult lives, their families and supporters, and the wider community. 
5. Any related matters.