A report from an inquiry into the procurement process conducted by the Attorney-General’s department (AGD) to deliver two new child sexual abuse-related national services. These procurements arose from the recommendations of the 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Reponses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Committee examined:

• the tender and procurement processes being utilised by the Attorney-General’s department to seek providers of the required services
• the lessons learned by the department in relation to these procurements and their current status.

Given the significance of these services, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) conducted an audit of the procurements in 2024-25: Conduct of procurements relating to two new child sexual abuse-related national services. The audit’s findings were serious. The evidence received by the Committee was consistent with the ANAO’s findings. In particular, the length of time taken to progress these procurements was deeply concerning.

The Committee has made two recommendations. First, AGD is required to provide an immediate update on the status of these services. Second, AGD is required to report again in six months on its implementation of the ANAO’s recommendations, including concrete examples drawn from ongoing and planned procurement activity.

Key findings

• Although funding was allocated in the 2021-22 Budget, the market was not approached until late 2023. 
• A contract for the national offending prevention service was eventually executed in July 2025.
• Negotiations for the service intended to support non-offending family members collapsed in October 2024, and there remains uncertainty as to when, or how, that service will now be delivered.
• The Committee is not yet persuaded that AGD is positioned to deliver the full suite of services required.