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The Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce (the Taskforce) was established by the Queensland Government on 3 September 2018. The Taskforce will provide for the views of those who have experienced institutional child abuse, support services and organisations in advice to the Queensland Government on implementing the reforms arising from the Royal Commission.
The Taskforce also provides advice on a grants program for activities that contribute to truth, healing and reconciling histories.
The image used by the Taskforce is of a tapestry. The tapestry weaves together the individual threads of Taskforce members, the threads of people with lived experience, their supporters and services, with Queensland Government agencies and the community, into a rich and comprehensive fabric.
The Taskforce acknowledges all that has come before and led us to where we are now.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as our First Nations and Traditional Owners of the land.
We acknowledge all people with lived experience of institutional child abuse.
We also acknowledge:
We recognise the harm experienced by many in the past and are committed to keeping this at the forefront of our work.
Its vision is for a Queensland where children are protected, safe and supported to reach their full potential. Its purpose is to raise awareness of institutional child abuse and its impacts, to drive changes that will protect children, and provide a holistic response to support, justice and healing for people with lived experience across Queensland.
The Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce upholds the following values:
The Taskforce's key priorities include:
The Taskforce is chaired by Mr Robert (Bob) Atkinson AO APM and comprises of 9 members, some of whom have lived experience.
Find out about the Taskforce members.
The role of the Taskforce is to provide advice to the Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence on key issues relating to the implementation of reforms arising from the Royal Commission, and provide advice on a grants program for truth, healing and reconciliation activities.
Read about the Taskforce’s Terms of Reference and Supporting Guidelines Terms of Reference and Supporting Guidelines .
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The Taskforce are planning on holding a 'Listening Tour' across Queensland. A series of forums will be held to provide information on the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the National Redress Scheme. It will also be an opportunity to provide your opinion, thoughts and feedback on the implementation of the Royal Commission recommendations in Queensland.
It is important to the Taskforce that we hear the voices of people with lived experience of institutional child abuse, their supporters and organisations working in this field.
Statewide forums have been postponed until 2021 due to the impact of COVID-19.
If you would like to receive information on the forums when it becomes available please contact taskforce.secretariat@csyw.qld.gov.au
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It is important the Taskforce continues to hear the voices of people with lived experience. Written submissions are encouraged from people with lived experience about the impact of institutional child abuse, and how people can be better supported.
The role of the Taskforce does not extend to considering or advocating for individual cases, or continuing the practice of the Royal Commission of holding private sessions. As an advisory body, the Taskforce does not have an oversight or monitoring role in the implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations by Queensland Government agencies or other institutions.
The Taskforce will run until December 2022. This supports the Queensland Government’s commitment to report annually on the implementation of Royal Commission recommendations for 5 consecutive years.
The Truth, Healing and Reconciliation grants program supports the recommendation by the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse to reveal the truth of what happened to children and contribute to healing and reconciliation in Queensland.
The grants program provides funding of up to $10,000 for community groups and organisations to undertake projects related to truth, healing and reconciling histories of people with lived experience of institutional child abuse, across Queensland communities.
Funded activities will:
Applications for 2020-21 grants will be available in early 2021. Please watch this space for information when it becomes available.
The Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce is pleased to support the five successful organisations for the truth, healing and reconciliation grants program recently announced by the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women.
Five organisations were successful in sharing $45,000 to raise awareness about the impact of institutional child abuse through events, programs and initiatives.
The five successful grant recipients are:
For more information you can read the Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence media statement.
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Bob, as Chair, was pleased to speak on behalf of the Taskforce at the launch of the Act for Kids Academy in October 2020. The training program discusses how organisations can become child safe, with activities on how to identify if a child is disclosing abuse and how to report it. Bob spoke of the importance of programs such as this, to continue to educate the community on how better to respond to children and young people. More information on the training package can be found by visiting the Act for Kids website.
Bob presented at the Changing Futures Queensland Forum, hosted by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in November 2020. Bob covered the Royal Commission and the findings related to harmful sexual behaviours. Additionally, Bob discussed the role of the Taskforce, and how government and non-government stakeholders can work together to ensure the recommendations of the Royal Commission are implemented in Queensland. More information on Changing Futures can be found by visiting the Daniel Morcombe Foundation.
Bob, as Chair of the Taskforce was invited, alongside staff from the Redress Coordination/Secretariat Unit of the Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women (DCSYW), to present to the Department of Housing and Public Works, Sport and Recreation on Wednesday 26 August 2020. Bob provided insight into the Royal Commission, and provided specific information on the findings of Volume 14, related to Sport and Recreation. Those in attendance spoke highly of Bob's presentation and the information that they received, particularly on the National Redress Scheme.
The first community forum, as part of the Taskforce 'Listening Tour' was held in Toowoomba on 13 February 2020. Over 60 people attended, including people with lived experience and a range of service providers. An overview of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was provided, along with discussion on the National Redress Scheme and implementation of the Royal Commission recommendations in Queensland. For more information on other community forums, please see upcoming events.
The Taskforce hosted a forum during Child Protection Week at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. Diane, a member of the Taskforce was our MC for the event and provided the audience with information on the Taskforce. The purpose of the forum was to hear from Dr Marie Wilson, former Commissioner, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and Bob Atkinson, Chair of the Taskforce and former Commissioner, Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, on their learnings on institutional child abuse. The event was well attended by many government, non-government and people with lived experience, and provided many thought provoking questions to consider. We thank our Taskforce member Karyn Walsh and Micah Projects for the opportunity to host Marie.
During Child Protection Week 2019, Bob our Chair was a keynote speaker at the Toowoomba University of Southern Queensland, South West Child Protection Symposium. This conference was held in partnership between many government and non-government organisations in the region. Bob spoke of his role as a Commissioner, of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the Taskforce, as well as his learnings and observations about child abuse and child abuse prevention. Many organisations were interested in the work of the Taskforce and discussion has begun for a forum, hosted by the Taskforce to be held in Toowoomba in late 2019/early 2020. Watch this space!
In July we were privileged to be invited to attend and speak to the former Boys and Girls of the Cherbourg dormitory and attend the opening of the new exhibition of the Ration Shed Museum. The day was filled with dancing, singing and beautiful food. The new museum, which took four years to be finalised, brought many emotions to the surface for those who attended. The exhibition is a testament to the Boys and Girls of the Cherbourg dormitory and their ongoing strength and courage. For more information on the museum and to find out how you can visit, please go to www.rationshed.com.au.
On the 24 June 2019, the Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Taskforce had its first presentation at the National Child Protection Conference, hosted by Peakcare in Brisbane. It was a unique opportunity for Taskforce chair Bob Atkinson AO APM, to speak about his work as a Commissioner for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This set the scene for Taskforce members with lived experience of institutional child sexual abuse, who presented the work of the Taskforce, in particular its key messages and priorities for 2019.
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Further information on the work of the Taskforce can be read in the following Communique's.
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Each year an annual report is produced with a summary of the highlights and work of the Taskforce. These can be found below:
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People with lived experience can contact the Taskforce at any time. You can do this by:
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence
People with lived experience can contact the Taskforce at any time.
You can do this by: