The Victorian government is being asked to investigate whether former governor-general and Anglican archbishop Peter Hollingworth is suitable to hold a Working With Children Check after a church review found he had neglected children.

In a letter seen by the ABC, Victoria’s Commission for Children and Young People says the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne investigated seven reportable allegations against Dr Hollingworth, and found two were substantiated.

“These allegations related to Dr Hollingworth’s failure to take action to protect children,” the letter reads.

It says in both cases, the Diocese found there was “significant neglect of a child”.

In April, a separate Anglican Church investigation found Dr Hollingworth had committed misconduct by knowingly allowing paedophiles to remain in the church, but was “fit for ministry” if he apologised to two victim-survivors.

Dr Hollingworth voluntarily surrendered his Permission to Officiate as an Anglican priest the following month, citing a desire to “end distress” for survivors and stop “division” in the church.

The letter reveals the commission will now refer the two substantiated findings to the Department of Government Services (DGS).

“The Commission’s referral enables DGS to assess whether Dr Hollingworth should retain a Working With Children Check if he currently holds one,” the letter said.

The commission is legally prevented from publicly confirming or commenting on individual cases.

Dr Hollingworth served as the Anglican archbishop of Brisbane from 1989 to 2001, and then as governor-general from 2001until his resignation in 2003.

A 2002 inquiry by the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane had found Dr Hollingworth allowed a paedophile priest to continue working until retirement.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse later found Dr Hollingworth made a “serious error of judgement”, and failed to take into account a psychiatrist’s advice that the priest was an “untreatable” paedophile who posed a risk of reoffending.

The ABC on Thursday approached Dr Hollingworth’s lawyer, and the Diocese of Melbourne, for comment.

In a statement when he gave up his permission to officiate, Dr Hollingworth said: “As Archbishop of Brisbane from 1990 to 2001, I was ill-equipped to deal with the child abuse issue and, like some other church people, was too defensive of the church on the advice of lawyers and insurers.”

Dr Hollingworth said he had “lived with my failures every day” since his tenure as archbishop.