A second Anglican Church investigation probing former governor-general Peter Hollingworth's handling of child abuse during his tenure as Archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s, has been held in secret.
The ABC understands the latest investigation has examined whether Dr Hollingworth may have breached Victoria's reportable conduct scheme.
Last week, the church's professional standards board found Dr Hollingworth had engaged in misconduct when he was Archbishop of Brisbane.
In one incident, Dr Hollingworth allowed paedophile priest John Elliot to remain in the ministry despite knowing Elliot had sexually abused children.
Despite the damning findings, the church's tribunal found that Dr Hollingworth was still fit to hold holy orders as long as he apologised to the complainants.
Dr Hollingworth said he accepted the findings.
The decision enraged victim-survivors, their families and advocates who had hoped the church would take more severe action.
But a second, clandestine inquiry could also threaten Dr Hollingworth's holy orders.
Several sources, who are unable to talk publicly while the inquiry is ongoing, have told the ABC the Anglican Church has been looking at "reportable conduct" allegations — claims that Dr Hollingworth failed to report child abusers to authorities during his tenure as Archbishop of Brisbane.
The inquiry is being run by the church's independent body Kooyoora after the allegations were made to Victoria's Commission for Children and Young People.
Kooyoora also conducted the investigation into the claims of misconduct against Dr Hollingworth and the same evidence is now being assessed against the state's reportable conduct scheme.
If allegations that Dr Hollingworth failed to report child abuse to authorities are substantiated, the children's commission can refer his Working With Children Check for review.
Reviews can lead the Working with Children Check Unit to revoke a person's card.
A Working With Children Check is required for all clergy.
A spokesperson for the children's commission said legislation prevented it from commenting publicly on individual reportable conduct cases, including whether or not investigations had been initiated or the outcome of an investigation.
"It is a criminal offence for the Commission to so comment,'' they said.
Kooyoora also said it was unable to comment.
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse previously found Dr Hollingworth made a "serious error of judgement", and failed to take into account a psychiatrist's advice that Elliot was an "untreatable" paedophile who posed a risk of reoffending.
When asked about the issue, Premier Daniel Andrews said Dr Hollingworth's fitness to retain his holy orders was a matter for the Anglican Church.
"The key point here is that we should have zero tolerance for this sort of conduct," he said.
"And part of that is believing people, respecting people and providing support to those who have been victims of this evil, evil stuff."
Dr Hollingworth notes 'multiple apologies' for mistakes while archbishop
Dr Hollingworth's lawyer said the former archbishop was unaware of any second investigation by Kooyoora.
"Kooyoora has spent more than five years investigating numerous complaints and reported its findings last week,'' he said.
"Before that, four other investigations and inquiries dealt with the same complaints. Kooyoora's Professional Standards Board had access to all the material examined in those inquiries.
"While Dr Hollingworth has admitted mistakes and made multiple apologies, he is the only known senior church identity to have required a priest to confess child abuse to a victim's family."
Last week's findings of misconduct took more than five years to complete. The length of the process outraged victims who said it exacerbated trauma, while Commissioner for Children & Young People Liana Buchanan said it had not met "reasonable community expectations".
The inquiry found Dr Hollingworth allowed another abusive priest, Donald Shearman, to retain his permission to officiate and that comments he made on television about Shearman's victim, Beth Heinrich, were "unsatisfactory, insensitive" and "likely to be distressing".
Abuse survivor advocates push for review of inquiry's decision
Survivors and advocates remain furious that Dr Hollingworth received no sanction despite the Anglican professional standards board's findings of misconduct.
A group of advocates have written to the church – as well as the children's commissioner and Premier Daniel Andrews – demanding a review of the board's decision not to de-frock Dr Hollingworth.
"This is a disaster for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, that it would endorse a senior cleric … at the expense of child safety, to be an appropriate person to have any role in the selection and appointment of the next generation of clergy,'' the letter says.
"The standard you walk past is the standard you accept."
The Professional Standards Committee which bought the case against Dr Hollingworth for Kooyoora has 30 days to lodge an appeal – the original complainants are unable to lodge an appeal.
