WA drops child abuse reporting plan

The West Australian government has walked away from its promise to create a 'one-stop shop' for reporting child abuse, a key recommendation of the Katanning hostel inquiry.

The state government committed in September 2012 to implementing all five recommendations made by Supreme Court judge Peter Blaxell following his inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse at St Andrew's Hostel.

Premier Colin Barnett admitted in budget estimates on Tuesday that the government was not going ahead with the 'one-stop shop' because of fears there would be lower rates of reporting but had not announced the decision because it was "common knowledge".