Frequently asked questions

Yes, we generally respond to referrals we receive when the referrer has provided their contact details.

Our Service Charter establishes the standards of service that can be expected of us.

The Service Charter sets out the following service level goals:

• Unanswered calls will be returned within 2 business days.
• We will respond within 30 days if a referral is not within our jurisdiction or we need more information to assess it.
• We will assess reports that are within our jurisdiction relating to corrupt conduct within 90 days.

Where we decide to take no further action on a referral, and we have contact details, we will provide a short explanation of why.

In most cases, it is not appropriate for us to comment or report on investigations until an outcome is finalised. This helps ensure that we uphold due process and procedural fairness in our investigations, preserve operational security and avoid unfair premature damage to reputations.

We will not respond to referrals that are abusive or include offensive material.

The senior executive routinely monitor a sample of individual assessments. Individuals who are dissatisfied with a 'no further action' outcome can apply for a review.

When a referral is received, we consider whether:

• it is in jurisdiction (that is, it involves a Commonwealth public official)
• it could be considered to involve a question of corrupt conduct as defined by the NACC Act and,
• if so, whether the conduct could be serious or systemic
• it aligns with the Commission’s Strategic Corruption Priorities
• its investigation would is in the public interest.

See how the NACC assesses corruption issues for more information.

Corruption prevention and education are very important parts of our functions.

That is why we have published a range of information and prevention resources on its website.

We also deliver presentations to a variety of audiences, where we assess this will be most effective.

We are responsive to requests from agencies for generic or tailor-made presentations.

We deliver presentations to parliamentarians of all parties and parliamentary staff.

Specific guidance to parliamentarians and their staff on reporting obligations, corruption risks and vulnerabilities and how to prevent them is available. 

They can also access the material available on our website.

A decision that a person has been found to have engaged in corrupt conduct under Part 8 of the NACC Act, can be reviewed under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.

The NACC Act contains stringent prohibitions on the disclosure of information.

Detailed information on our approach to protecting your privacy is available in our Privacy Statement.

Yes. The Commissioner can investigate a corruption issue that they become aware of in any way, including on their own initiative.

The Commissioner may decide to hold a hearing, or part of a hearing, in public if satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist and that it is in the public interest to do so. In deciding whether to hold a public hearing the Commissioner may regard a range of factors including the benefits of exposing corrupt conduct to the public and any unfair prejudice to a person’s reputation, privacy, safety or wellbeing. Exceptional circumstances are circumstances that justify an exception to the general rule that hearings be held in private. The holding of public hearings will be decided by the Commissioner on a case-by-case basis.

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 they:

• are a public official and breach public trust
• are a public official and abuse their office as a public official
• are a public official or a former public official and misuse information they have gained in their capacity as a public official
• 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.

We can only investigate allegations involving Commonwealth public officials.

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 us. The easiest way to do so is using our webform.

A person can provide information about a corruption issue to us anonymously.

However, making an anonymous referral means we 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 us:

• Anyone providing information to the Commission about a corruption issue will be protected from civil, criminal or administrative liability (including disciplinary action). 
• Criminal offences apply to anyone who takes, or threatens to take, reprisal action against someone who provide information to us.

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 if that person has provided contact details. 

We can investigate allegations of serious or systemic corruption that occurred before or after our establishment. However, where an allegation relates to events that happened a long time ago, it may not be possible to obtain sufficient relevant evidence. In some circumstances, it may be unfair to investigate historical allegations. Also, investigation of historical allegations may not advance the public interest. In such cases, the Commissioner is unlikely to exercise their discretion to investigate.

Agency heads, as defined in the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (NACC Act), have an obligation under the NACC Act to refer to us any corruption issue of which they become aware. These are known as ‘mandatory referrals’.

Mandatory referral obligations apply to:

• agency heads and their delegates
• parliamentarians
• heads of intelligence agencies
• Public Interest Disclosure (PID) officers.

Agency heads and PID officers must make a referral if the issue:

• concerns the conduct of a person who is, or was, a staff member of their agency
• happened while the person is, or was, a staff member, and
• they suspect the issue could involve serious or systemic corrupt conduct.

Agency heads and PID officers are also able to make voluntary referrals.

Further guidance on mandatory referral obligations can be found on the Attorney-General's Department website.

An agency head who becomes aware of a corruption issue must refer it to us as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware of it.

This applies regardless of when the relevant conduct occurred, including before:

• the agency head joined the agency
• they became the agency head
• the Commission commenced operations.

Heads of intelligence agencies who become aware of a corruption issue within their agency must refer it to either us or the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) if the issue:

• concerns the conduct of a person who is, or was, a staff member of their agency
• happened while the person is, or was, a staff member, and
• they suspect the issue could involve serious or systemic corrupt conduct.

The head of the intelligence agency must refer the corruption issue to either the IGIS or us as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware of it.

PID officers who receive an internal disclosure from 1 July 2023 under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (PID Act) that raises a corruption issue under the NACC Act, must refer it to us (or the IGIS, if appropriate) if:

• they received the disclosure in the course of performing their functions under the PID Act
• the disclosure raises a corruption issue under the NACC Act
• the corruption issue concerns the conduct of a person who is, or was, a staff member of the agency while that person is, or was, a staff member of the agency, and
• the PID officer suspects the issue could involve serious or systemic corrupt conduct.

The PID officer must refer the corruption issue to us (or the IGIS) as soon as reasonably practicable after becoming aware of it.

The PID officer must tell the discloser if they refer the issue, consistent with their obligations under the PID Act.

More information on the PID scheme can be found on the Commonwealth Ombudsman website.

Mandatory referrals can be made using our webform. When making the referral, you will be asked to:

• describe the alleged conduct
• tell us why you think it is corrupt conduct and
• tell us why you think it could be serious or systemic.

Mandatory referrals cannot be made anonymously.

The webform asks if you have any documentation or evidence to support your report.

If we want some or all of that information, we will contact you.

However, agency heads can also make mandatory referrals and provide supporting documentation by hardcopy correspondence to the Commissioner, by hand or by post.

A person with mandatory reporting obligations is not required to make a referral to us if they believe on reasonable grounds that the Commissioner (or IGIS) is already aware of the corruption issue.

Agency heads must comply with their mandatory referral obligations, even if doing so would breach a secrecy obligation under another law (except in the case of certain limited ‘exempt secrecy provisions').