A Royal Commissioner has a lot of power, more than those of a judge but these are limited to the "Terms of Reference" of the Commission. The Commission is created by the Head of State (the Sovereign, or his/her representative in the form of a Governor-General or Governor) on the advice of the Government. In practice–unlike other forms of inquiry–once a Commission has started the government cannot stop it. Because of this governments are usually very careful about framing the Terms of Reference and generally include in them a date by which the commission must finish.