The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will return to Ballarat.
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It comes after a huge community campaign to force the commission to return to the city.
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However, a previous decision to relocate November hearings from Ballarat to Melbourne will still stand.
On Thursday night the commission released a statement saying “further evidence in the Ballarat hearing, including the response of the Christian Brothers, together with final submissions in relation to the Ballarat hearing will be heard in Ballarat in the first half of next year”.
Clergy sex abuse survivors spokesperson Andrew Collins said the change would mean survivors would only be forced to travel a day or two to see the evidence provided by Cardinal George Pell.
“I am happy, it is a good compromise, obviously we would have preferred to have (Cardinal) Pell in Ballarat but to have the rest of the stuff in Ballarat is a great win,” he said.
“That is manageable, we are quite happy with that.”
Mr Collins said he was surprised the commission had decided to change its mind after months of providing little information about the change.
“For a while I thought the commission wasn’t listening,” he said.
“We want to thank the community for their support, without that help from them it just wouldn’t be achievable.
“We only have a voice if people listen, for people to support us, that just means the world to us.”
The public hearing will be streamed live to the public via webcast on the Royal Commission’s website atwww.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au
