The Royal Commission has concluded its consultation phase, and is now focussed on writing its report and developing our recommendations.

The Commission reached a significant milestone last week as we held our final two Public Hearings, ahead of a regional visit to Coober Pedy, the APY Lands and Alice Springs starting today.

During our 10 days of hearings, we heard from a total of 64 witnesses since November 20 last year, when we called our first witness.

I want to thank all witnesses who have provided valuable insights and evidence, and helped expand our understanding of the sector in SA, including identifying gaps and problems in services and supports; highlighting resource issues, and providing examples innovation, collaboration and best practice.

I am pleased that we have connected with a broad cross-section of the South Australian community, as part of our efforts to listen and learn – to hear and understand – more about the scourge that is domestic, family and sexual violence.

Over the many months – through our Public Hearings, listening sessions, submissions and Share With Us survey – we have heard from front line workers, academics and leaders in the field, from women, men and children, non binary South Australians, young and older South Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people, people living with disability, people within the LGBTQIA+ communities, CALD communities, people living in regional and remote South Australia, experts from interstate and overseas who have experience in service delivery, response, intervention and recovery.

To date, we have held more than 100 listening sessions across the state – each providing real and relevant insights, and each helping me to build a comprehensive understanding of the issues facing those impacted by domestic, family and sexual violence, and which will absolutely guide our recommendations.

I am particularly proud of the work we have done, and continue to do, to highlight the voices of young people, and recognising them as victim-survivors in their own right.

To the many victim survivors I have met with, I also want to thank you – for your bravery, your resilience and for your determination to make things better – and to bring about generational change.

The Commission is acutely mindful of the need for an intersectional approach, which is why we have focused on hearing from those who are often without a voice in the system or are ignored - such as culturally and linguistically diverse, communities, people with disabilities, children and young people, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

With the Public Hearings now complete – aside from this week’s visit to the Far North and next month’s visit to Ceduna - public consultation has now closed.

Submissions to our website closed in September last year, with more than 360 responses received. Our Share With Us survey also closed in December last year, with more than 800 responses lodged to the Commission.

The team will now continue its work reviewing transcripts from the Public Hearings, examining submissions, data and other evidence that we have collated over the past eight months, looking at what is working in other states or jurisdictions, and what else we need to understand about the current systems and understanding the changes that are needed, as directed under our Terms of Reference, and on delivering our report in July.

Every day, I am conscious of the scourge that is domestic, family and sexual violence in SA, Australia and globally, and it is haunting.

I am hopeful that we will make recommendations that will address our Terms of Reference and bring about real change. I can assure you that it is my privilege and intention to try.

Natasha Stott Despoja AO

Commissioner