The National Anti-Corruption Commission (the Commission) has today published an investigation report into Operation Kingscliff, finding corrupt conduct by a Senior Executive Service officer in the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) on multiple occasions.
The Commission found the official had engaged in corrupt conduct by abusing her office to give her sister and her sister’s fiancé an improper benefit, and by misusing official information.
A key element of the investigation was the transfer of the sister’s fiancé to Home Affairs under section 26 of the Public Service Act 1999.
The official’s involvement in the transfer included her promoting her sister’s fiancé as a candidate for a position in Home Affairs, praising him to colleagues, creating the job requisition, approving it herself and forging a witness signature on paperwork to fast-track onboarding, all the while deliberately concealing the family relationship from others. At no point did she disclose the relationship.
In a separate employment process, the official provided interview questions to her sister in advance.
The Commission found the conduct was serious because of the seniority of the public official, the deception involved and the significant benefits of securing a public service role; and systemic because the behaviours were repeated, and because nepotism, cronyism and undeclared conflicts of interest in APS recruitment are an area of widespread concern.
The public official has resigned from the APS. Had she not done so, the Commission would have recommended that her employment be terminated.
National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, the Hon Paul Brereton AM RFD SC said:
‘Since the Commission was established, we’ve received many referrals about recruitment and promotion in the Australian Public Service. In the 2024 Commonwealth Integrity Survey, public sector employees told us that nepotism and cronyism are among the most frequently observed corrupt behaviours.
‘Operation Kingscliff is a paradigm case that illustrates systemic risks in APS recruitment. It reinforces the need for strong corruption prevention measures – including mandatory conflict of interest disclosures in all recruitment processes, and prevention of improper disclosures of official information.’
The full report, including the Commission’s corruption prevention recommendations to Home Affairs, is available at nacc.gov.au/investigation-reports
Operation Kingscliff is the fourth investigation report published by the Commission, and the first report on an investigation commenced and completed since the Commission was established on 1 July 2023.