Some of the most heinous crimes committed by evil agents of the corporation of The Crown, was the repeated ritual sexual abuse of children, in institutions set up to protect their welfare. Aboriginal children were disproportionately affected. They were forcibly removed under government assimilation and “protection” policies- now recognized as part of the Stolen Generation. For over a century, state authorities and religious organizations operated residential homes, missions, and training institutions, which were officially presented as protective or educational.

The Bethcar Children’s Home in Brewarrina, and later orange in, NSW, operated between 1969 and 1989, and primarily housed stolen Aboriginal girls, who endured horrific sexual abuse at the hands of staff members. When incidents were reported, authorities frequently failed to intervene.
Between 1980 and 1984, repeated complaints were lodged with police and welfare departments, but investigations were delayed or inadequate, reflecting systemic institutional failures. Police interviews were conducted inappropriately, often with alleged abusers present, and children were returned to the same abusive environment. Sadly Bethcar was just one example.

The Wood Royal Commission ran from 1994 to 1997 and was initially established to investigate corruption within the New South Wales Police Service, however over the course of the investigations it uncovered that police had played a significant role in concealing child sexual abuse.
“justice” james wood who ran the commission has been heavily implicated by other, now adult victims of ritual sexual abuse, as a paedophile himcellf, Despite having been selected to investigate the very crimes he is accused of covering up, and the subsequent 99 year suppression order of his ‘findings’, claimants identified multiple failures including mishandling of complaints, suppression or destruction of evidence, and the prioritization of reputations over child safety.
Allegations of satanic ritual abuse were reported during the hearings but were dismissed or treated as implausible and excluded from formal findings, In some instances, police officers actively protected perpetrators, allowing abuse to continue unchecked.
The wood royal commission is infamous for it’s suppression order, designed to protect the names of 28 high profile paedophiles, including an australian prime minister, which was publicly raised by senator bill heffernan in 2015.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse ran from 2013 to 2017 and examined state, religious, and non-government institutions nationally and confirmed systemic abuse and failures across schools, churches, residential care, and youth detention facilities. Aboriginal children were again disproportionately represented in institutions where abuse was most severe.

Recurring patterns in the commissions emerged: complaints ignored or delayed; children returned to unsafe environments; lack of appropriate investigation, procedural and legal obstructions; and protection of perpetrators. Allegations of ritual sexual abuse were investigated selectively, with most cases dismissed due to supposed implausibility or lack of corroborating evidence, and Systemic complicity across state departments, police, and religious authorities, allowing abuse to persist over decades. Despite this, survivor testimonies described consistent patterns of abuse, coordination, and complicity.

During the commissions, government lawyers breached their own “model litigant policy’. The model litigant policy states that they must act fairly and respect the legal rights of all involved, minimise legal costs, and act with integrity at all times. They denied known facts, refused early apologies, and used legal tricks to avoid compensation. Interviews with officials later acknowledged these underhanded strategies and the lifelong devastating effects on victims.

While these Commissions led to some criminal prosecutions, civil settlements, and state apologies, survivors received limited compensation. In 2008 civil litigation was initiated by fifteen former residents of bethcar, but again they faced significant delays and legal obstacles. The Crown Solicitor’s Office used technical defenses, delayed or witheld evidence, and prolonged proceedings to avoid accountability. Despite some victims achieving criminal convictions against abusers, It was only through mediation in 2013, decades after the abuse, that victims eventually received an insincere state apology and a piss-weak payout of just over a hundred thousand dollars, for a lifetime of abuse, neglect and gaslighting. Not even enough for a deposit on a house.

The institutional child abuse in Australia was systemic and intentional, not isolated. The State was responsible for overseeing Bethcar and other facilities and for protecting children, but it failed, despite knowing about the abuse for years.