Table Of Content1
REPORT OF
CASE STUDY NO. 15
Response of swimming institutions,
the Queensland and NSW Ofices
of the DPP and the Queensland
Commission for Children and
Young People and Child Guardian
to allegations of child sexual
abuse by swimming coaches
NOVEMBER 2015
Report of Case Study No. 18
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ISBN: 978-1-925289-33-6
© Commonwealth of Australia 2015
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Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
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Report of Case Study No. 15
Response of swimming institutions, the Queensland and NSW
Ofces of the DPP and the Queensland Commission for Children
and Young People and Child Guardian to allegations
of child sexual abuse by swimming coaches
November 2015
CHAIR
The Hon Justice Peter McClellan AM
COMMISSIONERS
Mr Robert Fitzgerald AM
Professor Helen Milroy
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Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au
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Table of contents
Preface 1
Executve summary 5
1 Scot Volkers’ prosecuton 34
1.1 Introducton 34
1.2 Allegatons of child sexual abuse against Mr Volkers 35
1.3 Police investgaton and Mr Volkers’ arrest 41
1.4 The frst decision to discontnue proceedings 42
1.5 Crime and Misconduct Commission investgates decision to
discontnue proceedings 48
1.6 Police reopen investgaton of Mr Volkers 54
1.7 Queensland DPP refers the mater to the New South Wales DPP 58
1.8 Mr Cowdery QC asks Ms Cunneen for advice 60
1.9 Mr Cowdery QC provides Ms Cunneen’s advice to Ms Clare 80
1.10 Ms Clare’s decision-making process 86
1.11 The second decision not to prosecute 89
1.12 Notfying the complainants 89
1.13 Ms Gilbert seeks leave to bring a private prosecuton 91
1.14 Conclusions – systemic issues 94
2 Scot Volkers – Working with children 101
2.1 Introducton 101
2.2 Background to Mr Volkers’ employment 101
2.3 Mr Volkers’ arrest, commital and DPP’s decision to discontnue – 2002 104
2.4 Mr Volkers is seconded to Swimming Australia –November 2002 109
2.5 Public concerns – October 2002 and January 2003 112
2.6 Crime and Misconduct Commission report published – March 2003 117
2.7 Mr Volkers returns to the Academy – 2004 118
2.8 A further allegaton is made against Mr Volkers – February 2005 119
2.9 First applicaton for a blue card – June 2008 124
2.10 Swimming Queensland contemplates employing Mr Volkers – 2008 128
2.11 Second applicaton for a blue card – March 2009 129
2.12 Response to issuing of a negatve notce 131
2.13 Appeal to the Queensland Children’s Services Tribunal in 2009 136
2.14 Further interacton between the CCYPCG and Swimming Queensland in 2010 140
2.15 Mr Volkers leaves Swimming Queensland 144
2.16 Policies 145
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3 Terrence Buck 150
3.1 Introducton 150
3.2 Sexual abuse of AEA 150
3.3 Police investgaton 151
3.4 Media interest in allegatons of child sexual abuse 152
3.5 Swimming Australia’s public call for victms of child sexual abuse 153
3.6 Impact of sexual abuse on AEA 157
3.7 Addressing future complaints 157
4 Stephen Roser 158
4.1 Introducton 158
4.2 Sexual abuse of AEB 158
4.3 Criminal process 159
4.4 Impact of sexual abuse on AEB 159
4.5 Response of Scone Swimming Club, Swimming NSW and Swimming Australia 160
4.6 Policies and procedures of Scone Swimming Club 163
5 Systemic issues 165
APPENDIX A: Terms of Reference 166
APPENDIX B: Advice of Margaret Cunneen 173
Appendix C: Public hearing 189
Endnotes 193
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Preface
The Royal Commission
The Leters Patent provided to the Royal Commission require that it ‘inquire into insttutonal
responses to allegatons and incidents of child sexual abuse and related maters’.
In carrying out this task, we are directed to focus on systemic issues but be informed by an
understanding of individual cases. The Royal Commission must make fndings and recommendatons
to beter protect children against sexual abuse and alleviate the impact of abuse on children when
it occurs.
For a copy of the Leters Patent, see Appendix A.
Public hearings
A Royal Commission commonly does its work through public hearings. A public hearing follows
intensive investgaton, research and preparaton by Royal Commission staf and Counsel Assistng
the Royal Commission. Although it may only occupy a limited number of days of hearing tme, the
preparatory work required by Royal Commission staf and by partes with an interest in the public
hearing can be very signifcant.
The Royal Commission is aware that sexual abuse of children has occurred in many insttutons, all of
which could be investgated in a public hearing. However, if the Royal Commission were to atempt
that task, a great many resources would need to be applied over an indeterminate, but lengthy,
period of tme. For this reason the Commissioners have accepted criteria by which Senior Counsel
Assistng will identfy appropriate maters for a public hearing and bring them forward as individual
‘case studies’.
The decision to conduct a case study will be informed by whether or not the hearing will advance
an understanding of systemic issues and provide an opportunity to learn from previous mistakes,
so that any fndings and recommendatons for future change which the Royal Commission makes
will have a secure foundaton. In some cases the relevance of the lessons to be learned will be
confned to the insttuton the subject of the hearing. In other cases they will have relevance to
many similar insttutons in diferent parts of Australia.
Public hearings will also be held to assist in understanding the extent of abuse which may have
occurred in partcular insttutons or types of insttutons. This will enable the Royal Commission
to understand the way in which various insttutons were managed and how they responded to
allegatons of child sexual abuse. Where our investgatons identfy a signifcant concentraton of
abuse in one insttuton, it is likely that the mater will be brought forward to a public hearing.
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Public hearings will also be held to tell the story of some individuals which will assist in a public
understanding of the nature of sexual abuse, the circumstances in which it may occur and, most
importantly, the devastatng impact which it can have on some people’s lives.
A detailed explanaton of the rules and conduct of public hearings is available in the Practce Notes
published on the Royal Commission’s website at:
www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au
Public hearings are streamed live over the internet.
In reaching fndings, the Royal Commission will apply the civil standard of proof which requires
its ‘reasonable satsfacton’ as to the partcular fact in queston in accordance with the principles
discussed by Dixon J in Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336:
... it is enough that the afrmatve of an allegaton is made out to the reasonable
satsfacton of the tribunal. But reasonable satsfacton is not a state of mind that is atained
or established independently of the nature and consequence of the fact or facts to be
proved. The seriousness of an allegaton made, the inherent unlikelihood of an occurrence
of a given descripton, or the gravity of the consequences fowing from a partcular fnding
are consideratons which must afect the answer to the queston whether the issue has
been proved to the reasonable satsfacton of the tribunal...the nature of the issue
necessarily afects the process by which reasonable satsfacton is atained.
In other words, the more serious the allegaton, the higher the degree of probability that is required
before the Royal Commission can be reasonably satsfed as to the truth of that allegaton.
Private sessions
When the Royal Commission was appointed, it was apparent to the Australian Government that
many people (possibly thousands) would wish to tell us about their personal history of child sexual
abuse in an insttutonal setng. As a result, the Commonwealth Parliament amended the Royal
Commissions Act 1902 to create a process called a ‘private session’.
A private session is conducted by one or two Commissioners and is an opportunity for a person
to tell their story of abuse in a protected and supportve environment. As at 23 October 2015, the
Royal Commission has held 4,269 private sessions and more than 1,526 people were waitng to
atend one. Many accounts from these sessions will be recounted in later Royal Commission reports
in a de-identfed form.
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Research program
The Royal Commission also has an extensive research program. Apart from the informaton we gain
in public hearings and private sessions, the program will draw on research by consultants and the
original work of our own staf. Signifcant issues will be considered in issues papers and discussed
at roundtables.
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This case study
The scope and purpose of the hearing was:
• The response of Swimming Australia Ltd to allegatons of child sexual abuse against
Terrence William Buck.
• The response of:
° Swimming Australia
° Swimming Queensland
° Queensland Academy of Sport
to allegatons of child sexual abuse against Scot Volkers.
• The response of the Ofces of the Director of Public Prosecutons in Queensland
and New South Wales to allegatons of child sexual abuse against Scot Volkers.
• The criteria by which Ofces of the Director of Public Prosecutons determine whether
to prosecute allegatons of child sexual assault.
• The response of Scone Swimming Club to the convictons of Stephen John Roser for
indecent assault and for commitng acts of indecency against a child.
• The systems, policies and procedures of Swimming Australia and its member organisatons
for preventng, detectng and responding to sexual abuse and their implementaton.
• The response of the Queensland Commissioner for Children and Young People and
Child Guardian to an applicaton by Scot Volkers for a ‘blue card’.
• Training of legal staf, including prosecutors and liaison ofcers of the Ofces of Director
of Public Prosecuton, in child sexual ofending.
• Any related maters.
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