• A corruption issue is information, or an allegation, that raises a question of whether a person:

    • has engaged in corrupt conduct in the past,
    • is currently engaging in corrupt conduct, or
    • will engage in corrupt conduct in the future.

    A person engages in corrupt conduct if:

    1. they are a public official and they breach public trust
    2. they are a public official and they abuse their office as a public official
    3. they are a public official or a former public official and they misuse information they have gained in their capacity as a public official
    4. they do something that adversely affects a public official’s honest or impartial exercise of powers or performance of official duties.

    Many people are public officials under the NACC Act. Most people who work for, exercise the powers of, or perform functions for, the Australian Government or the Australian Parliament are likely to be considered public officials under the NACC Act.

    The NACC Act specifically says that the following people are public officials:

    • members and senators of the Australian Parliament, including ministers, and the people who work for them
    • staff members of Commonwealth agencies including employees of Australian Government departments, Commonwealth companies and statutory bodies and contracted service providers (including consultants, independent contractors, labour-hire contractors, and others providing contracted services to the government)
    • staff members of the NACC.

  • Anyone can make a report of corrupt conduct to the NACC. The easiest way to do so is using our webform.

  • A person can provide information about a corruption issue to the NACC anonymously.

    However, making an anonymous referral means the Commissioner cannot:

    • seek more information from a person about their referral
    • notify a person of the outcome of any investigation related to their referral
    • ensure measures are in place to protect the person or others involved in their referral
    • provide a person with a copy of all, or part, of an investigation report related to their referral.

  • The following protections are available for whistleblowers who provide information to the Commission:

    • There will be protection from civil, criminal or administrative liability (including disciplinary action) for anyone providing information to the Commission about a corruption issue.
    • There will be criminal offences for taking, or threatening to take, reprisal action against anyone providing information to the Commission.

    In addition:

    • Public officials have protections under the existing Public Interest Disclosure Scheme.

  • The Commissioner may deal with a corruption issue in one or more of the following ways:

    • conduct a preliminary investigation to find out more information to assist the Commissioner to make a decision about how to deal with the issue
    • if the issue could involve serious or systemic corrupt conduct - investigate the issue alone or with the relevant Commonwealth agency or a state or territory government entity
    • refer the issue to the Commonwealth agency that the issue relates to for them to investigate
    • refer the issue to another Commonwealth agency or state or territory government entity for consideration
    • take no action.

    If there is not enough information to decide whether the referral could involve serious or systemic corrupt conduct, the Commissioner may ask the person who referred the issue to provide more information.

  • The Commission will have the power to investigate allegations of serious or systemic corruption that occurred before or after its establishment.

News and media
The latest news, updates and media releases from the NACC.