From 1 July to midnight Sunday 3 December 2023, the Commission received 2,247 referrals.
Assessment of referrals
Assessment is a process by which the Commission considers, first, whether the referral is in its jurisdiction and raises a corruption issue (which we call triaging) and, secondly, whether and if so how to investigate the issue raised by the referral.
Since 1 July 2023, 1,667 referrals have been excluded at the triage stage because they do not involve a Commonwealth public official or do not raise a corruption issue.
176 referrals are pending triage.
58 referrals are currently in active triage.
152 referrals are currently under assessment.
In some instances referrals are duplicates. Administrative nuances such as this may lead to a gap between the itemised figures above and the total number of referrals.
The Commission’s assessment policy is available on its website at How the NACC assesses corruption issues.
Investigations
The Commission has opened 13 preliminary investigations. A preliminary investigation helps the Commission decide whether there is a corruption issue that should be further investigated. The Commission can use some of its investigatory powers in a preliminary investigation, such as compelling the provision of information or documents.
To date, the Commission has opened 9 new investigations, and has referred 3 corruption issues to Commonwealth agencies to which the issues relate for investigation.
The Commission continues to work on 6 active investigations inherited from the former Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.
The Commission does not comment on ongoing investigations as to do so may compromise operational activities or unfairly impact reputations.
Making a report
The Commission is appreciative of the high level of interest and referrals it has received so far. We will continue to reach out to individual referrers where we need additional information, or to let them know if we have decided not to proceed further.
If you wish to make a report about a corruption issue in the Commonwealth public sector, visit nacc.gov.au or call 1300 489 844.