Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) was established a year ago to detect, deter, and prevent corrupt conduct among public officials. Its mission is to enhance integrity in the Commonwealth public sector, by deterring, detecting and preventing corrupt conduct among public officials through education, monitoring, investigation, reporting and referral. The NACC is overseen by an inspector to monitor legal compliance and a parliamentary joint committee to monitor performance.
The NACC has two main lines of operation. The first is detection and deterrence through investigation. The NACC can receive referrals from anyone and can also commence investigations on its own motion.
At the close of the first 12 months of operation, the NACC:
- had received 3,189 referrals
- was conducting 26 corruption investigations
- had 29 matters under preliminary investigation
- was overseeing or monitoring 19 investigations by other agencies
- had 5 matters before the court
- had 2 matters resulting in convictions.
Toward the end of its first year, the NACC announced it would not investigate referrals from the Robodebt Royal Commission. The NACC has complete discretion as to what it will and will not investigate. It explained that in the light of the comprehensive Royal Commission, a further investigation would not add value in the public interest. The NACC is committed to cooperating with an inquiry by the Inspector into its decision.
The second line of operations is prevention of corruption through engagement and education. The NACC aims to build resistance to corrupt conduct, to encourage reporting, and to cultivate a culture of integrity across the Commonwealth public sector. In its first year the NACC conducted 124 presentations to parliamentarians, agency heads and senior public servants, departmental and agency staff, civil society organisations and professional associations.
Read more about the first year of the NACC here.