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Brief for
Attorney-General for
Palau
The Hon PLG Brereton, AM, RFD, SC
National Anti-Corruption Commissioner
24 January 2024
www.nacc.gov.au
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Topics
Origins and Establishment
Mission and Organisation
Jurisdiction & corrupt conduct
Referrals and assessment
What is meant by serious and systemic?
Powers and protections
Outcomes and reports
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Origins and establishment
• State and territory anti-corruption commissions
• No Commonwealth commission with broad-based
jurisdiction
• Election issue
• Legislation October 2022
• Commencement 1 July 2023
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Mission
To enhance integrity in the Commonwealth
public sector, by
deterring,
detecting and
preventing corrupt conduct involving
Commonwealth public officials, through
education, monitoring, investigation,
reporting and
referral.
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Organisation
Commissioner
Deputy
Commissioners
Prevention
Operations
Capabilities
Engagement &
Legal
Executive &
Enabling Servies
Evaluation
Business Support
Investigations
Intelligence
Intake & triage
Operational
Governance
Property
Surveillance
Assessments
Corporate
Media
ICT
Referred
Prevention &
Investigations
Engagement
HR
Finance
Security
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Corrupt conduct: s8(1)
(a) Conduct of any person that adversely affects a public
official’s honest or impartial exercise of powers or performance
of duties
(b) Conduct of a public official that involves a breach of public
trust
(c) Conduct of a public official that involves abuse of office
(d) Conduct of a public official or former public official that
involves the misuse of information or documents
Not mere maladministration or mistakes
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Exclusions: s8(2)
Paragraph 8(1)(a) (conduct of any person)
does not apply in relation to conduct of the
following:
(a) the Governor-General;
(b) a Deputy Governor-General;
(c) a Justice of the High Court or a judge of a
court created by the Parliament;
(d) a judge of a court of a State or Territory;
(e) a member of a Royal Commission;
(f) the Inspector, or a person assisting the
Inspector.
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Commonwealth public officials: s8, s10
The touchstone of jurisdiction is an issue of corrupt
conduct by, or affecting, a
Commonwealth public
official.
Parliamentarians
Commonwealth
public officials
Staff members
of
Commonwealth
agencies
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Staff members: s12
Staff members of an agency include:
•
if the agency is a Commonwealth entity—an
official (within the meaning of the PGPA Act)
of the entity;
•
in any case—an individual who is employed
by, or engaged in assisting the agency or a
staff member of the agency on behalf of the
agency or the Commonwealth (which could
include consultants); and
•
an individual involved in providing services
to or for the agency under a Comonwealth
contract.
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Referrals
•
Voluntary. Anyone can refer a matter to the Commission
•
Mandatory. An agency head who becomes aware of a
corruption issue must refer the issue to the Commission if it
concerns the conduct of a staff member of the agency, and
the agency head suspects that the issue could involve
corrupt conduct that is serious or systemic
•
Own motion. the Commission can investigate a corruption
issue of which it becomes aware of its own motion without
any referral
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Making a referral
Online:
www.nacc.gov.au
Phone:
1300 489 844
Post
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Whistleblower protections
If you refer or provide information to the Commission about a
corruption issue, you are not subject to any civil, criminal or
administrative liability (including disciplinary action) for doing
so.
In addition, no contractual or other right or remedy can be
enforced against you for doing so.
These protections override all other laws of the
Commonwealth.
The only exception is that action can stil be taken for
making false or misleading statements to the Commission.
Taking reprisal action against anyone who makes a referral,
provides information, or gives evidence to the Commission is a
criminal offence.
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Assessment
•
Triage:
• Does the referral concern a Commonwealth public official?
• Does the referral raise a corruption issue?
• Preliminary investigation?
•
Assessment:
• Should the Commission deal with the issue and if so how?
• Conduct a Commission-only corruption investigation
• Conduct a joint investigation with another agency
• Refer to relevant agency for investigation
• Refer to relevant agency for consideration
• Take no further action
• No obligation to consider dealing with any referral
• Notification to referrers
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Serious or systemic
Serious
Systemic
Requires something that
Means something that is
is significant; it involves
more than an isolated
something more than
case; it involves a
“negligible” or “trivial”,
pattern of behaviour, or
but it does not have to
something that affects
be “severe” or “grave”.
or is embedded in a
system.
The mandatory referral obligation is triggered if the
suspected corrupt conduct could be either serious or
systemic
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Investigatory powers
• To compel provision of documents and information
• To summons for examination at hearing
• Ordinarily in private
• Exceptional y in public
• Information cannot be withheld on grounds of
• legal professional privilege
• public interest immunity
• privilege against self-incrimination. However,
information provided under compulsion cannot
be admitted in evidence in a criminal
prosecution of the person providing it.
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Outcomes and reports
• Finding of “corrupt conduct”
• Recommendations
• Referrals
• Report to Attorney-General
• Parliament
• Public release
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Oversight
• Inspector
• Parliamentary Joint Committee
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Data and trends to date
• 2424 referrals
• 1920 referrals excluded at triage
• 62 referrals pending triage
• 200 triaged referrals under assessment including 11 under
preliminary investigation
• 161 referrals assessed :
• no further action in 144 cases.
• 3 referrals to agencies for investigation or
consideration, in 1 of those cases with oversight by the
Commission.
• 6 Commission-only corruption investigations.
• 3 joint investigations.
• Procurement
• Promotion
• Misuse of information
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Prevention and Engagement
• Presentations to:
• Parliamentarians
• Senior public servants
• High risk agencies
• Professional associations
• Civil society organisations
• International
• CCPCJ
• CoSP10
• Teienewa Vision
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The Pacific
• Staff exchanges
• Information exchange
• MoU
• APSACC Darwin 29-31 July 2024
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Questions?
Subscribe to the website using your ‘gov.au’ email
address and check back regularly for updates. More
information and resources wil be added when
available.
Call us on 1300 489 844 (voicemail is available
outside standard business hours).
www.nacc.gov.au
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Document Outline
