Confessional secrecy ends

SOUTH Australia will become the first state to legally compel clergy to report child sexual abuse, as Attorney-General Vickie Chapman urges others to follow suit.

Under new laws to take effect in October, priests who hear confessions about child abuse will have a mandatory obligation to report the matter to police. The law will also apply to social workers, teachers, medical professionals and others in positions of authority. The reform is part of the national response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.