Making a complaint

There are a range of different pathways to make a complaint of abuse within the Catholic Church.

I have a reasonable belief that someone has been abused by a Religious and/or Cleric, not including a Church Authority, in respect to the safeguarding of children or adults at risk

Pathway 1:

Contact the relevant state or territory government reporting authority. The details of the reporting authorities can be found here.

Pathway 2:

Contact the Church Authority and Catholic entity where the incident has occurred.

Pathway 3:

If you do not feel comfortable raising the concerns with the Church Authority and Catholic entity directly, you can contact the Catholic State/Provincial Safeguarding Office where the incident occurred (except NSW and ACT where you should contact the Catholic entity directly). Details of State/Provincial Safeguarding Offices can be found here.

Pathway 4:

If you do not feel comfortable raising the concerns with the State/Provincial Safeguarding Office, or you are unsure where you should raise your concerns, you can contact ACSL who will assist you in directing your concerns to the most appropriate place. Contact ACSL directly by sending an email to complaints.response@acsltd.org.au where a member of the Complaints Response team will then schedule a time convenient to you to discuss your concerns.

 

I have a reasonable belief that someone has been abused by a Church Authority, in respect to the safeguarding of children or adults at risk

Pathway 1:

Contact the relevant state or territory government reporting authority. The details of the reporting authorities can be found here.

Pathway 2:

Contact the Catholic State/Provincial Safeguarding Office where the incident occurred (except NSW and ACT where you should contact the Catholic entity directly). Details of State/Provincial Safeguarding Offices can be found here. The State/Provincial Safeguarding Office can then liaise with ACSL.

Pathway 3:

Contact ACSL directly by sending an email to complaints.response@acsltd.org.au where a member of the Complaints Response team will then schedule a time convenient to you to discuss your concerns.

I have a reasonable belief that a Religious and/or Cleric, not including a Church Authority has acted contrary to Integrity in Ministry:

Pathway 1:

Contact the Church Authority and Catholic entity where the incident has occurred.

Pathway 2:

If you do not feel comfortable raising the concerns with the Church Authority and Catholic entity directly, you can contact the Catholic State/Provincial Safeguarding Office where the incident occurred (except NSW and ACT where you should contact the Catholic entity directly). Details of State/Provincial Safeguarding Offices can be found here.

Pathway 3:

If you do not feel comfortable raising the concerns with the State/Provincial Safeguarding Office, or you are unsure where you should raise your concerns, you can contact ACSL who will assist you in directing your concerns to the most appropriate place.

I have a reasonable belief that a Church Authority has acted contrary to Integrity in Ministry:

Pathway 1:

Contact the Catholic entity where the incident has occurred.

Pathway 2:

Contact the Catholic State/Provincial Safeguarding Office where the incident occurred (except NSW and ACT where you should contact the Catholic entity directly). Details of State/Provincial Safeguarding Offices can be found here. The State/Provincial Safeguarding Office can then liaise with ACSL.

Pathway 3:

Contact ACSL directly by sending an email to complaints.response@acsltd.org.au where a member of the Complaints Response team will then schedule a time convenient to you to discuss your concerns.

I am party (complainant, respondent or Church Authority) to a complaint managed under Towards Healing or the National Response Protocol, and I am dissatisfied with the investigative process, investigative findings, or the outcome complaint:

Pathway 1:

If the Church Authority has established its own review mechanism, contact the Church Authority (or their representative) and request a review of the process and/or findings of the investigation.

Pathway 2:

Request a review through ACSL by sending an email to complaints.response@acsltd.org.au where a member of the Complaints Response team will then schedule a time convenient to you to discuss your concerns.

I am a Church Authority (or representative) and I would like ACSL’s assistance in implementing Vos Estis Lux Mundi:

Send an email to complaints.response@acsltd.org.au where a member of the Complaints Response team will then schedule a time to discuss your concerns.