Corruption and Integrity Update March 2025

In this edition of the Queensland Corruption and Integrity Update we consider updates arising from the operations and oversight of the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Independent Assessor, as well as taking a deep dive into the proposed legislative amendments relating to the reporting of corruption by the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Office of the Information Commissioner

On 24 February 2025, the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) published an article titled ‘Government use of AI in Queensland’. The article was said to be intended to generate conversation within and between Queensland government agencies, and to encourage them to navigate their inevitable AI journeys responsibly.

In welcoming the implementation of AI in the Queensland public sector, the OIC noted that AI holds immense potential for improving government operations and services. However, the OIC stressed that its integration requires careful attention to privacy, security, and ethical considerations.

The OIC outlined the need to keep privacy and data security at the forefront when adopting new AI technologies. To protect against privacy risks, the OIC suggested risk mitigation strategies be implemented from the outset, with two options recommended for agencies to safeguard against privacy and security risks of AI:

1. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) to identify privacy risk and ensure risk mitigation strategies are in place from the start; and
2. Foundational Artificial Intelligence Risk Assessment Framework (FAIRA), which is a risk identification tool for Queensland agencies evaluating AI technology.

With AI being able to interact with vast amounts of data, ensuring that it complies with privacy legislation and security standards is key to maintaining public trust. Consequently, the OIC suggests it is recommended practice that agencies adopt either PIA or FAIRA

The call for transparency with the use of AI is another point raised by the OIC. The OIC notes that humans should be at the forefront of its adoption of AI, and it is essential that the public sector can explain and justify AI-driven outcomes. With the array of ethical challenges that AI poses, it is critical that the government decisions that affect individuals’ lives can be adequately justified by those individuals implementing it. This balanced approach allows for the use of AI without sacrificing fundamental rights or public trust.

Oversight of the Office of the Information Commissioner

On 19 February 2025, the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee held a public hearing relating to the Committee’s oversight responsibilities for the OIC. During the hearing, the Information Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, and the Right to Information Commissioner provided updates on their role and the work of the OIC.

Joanne Kummrow, the Information Commissioner, provided an overview of the OIC’s annual report, including performance merits and legislative updates that affected the OIC (covered in our September Update). Some key points from the hearing include:

• the OIC is investigating the privacy breach by Queensland Police Service’s QPRIME system, which was auto-populating victim information onto forms provided to offenders. No timeframe was provided for when the investigation will be finalised, and Ms Kummrow assured the Committee that there was no imminent risk to anyone’s welfare and safety as a result of the breach; and
• the OIC considers the implementation of the Information Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2023 (Qld) (IPOLA) reforms to have been positive, with the OIC receiving “tremendous feedback” from agencies that have benefited from the OIC’s additional engagement, education and guidance it has provided on the reforms.

Oversight of the Independent Assessor

On 19 February 2025, the Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee held a public hearing for the Committee’s oversight of the Independent Assessor (OIA). During the hearing, the Independent Assessor, the Deputy Independent Assessor, and the Director, Media and Engagement provided updates on their roles and responsibilities.

Key points from the hearing included that:

• from 1 July 2024 to 31 January 2025, the OIA received 582 complaints, 80% (513 complaints) of which were dismissed. The OIA considers the high rate of dismissals as a reflection of its efforts to prioritise more serious misconduct after reforms in 2023 which allowed the OIA to deal with complaints more efficiently and proportionally; and
• prior to the 2023 reforms, 21% of all complaints were councillor on councillor complaints, however, after the Local Government elections in March 2024, this has dropped to 14% of complaints.

Proposed legislative amendments relevant to the operation of the CCC

Crime and Corruption (Restoring Reporting Powers) Amendment Bill 2025

On 20 February 2025, the Bill was introduced into the Queensland Parliament to amend the Crime and Corruption Act 2001 (Qld) (CC Act). The introduction of the Bill follows a pre-election commitment of the new government, with the objectives of the Bill said to be:

• restoring the power to report publicly about corruption investigations, as it was considered to exist before the High Court decision, and to ensure that the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) may also make public statements about these matters;
• safeguarding against the release of information to the public about corruption matters in circumstances where the risks or harms outweigh any benefits to be derived from releasing the information; and
• ensuring that any residual legal risk that might be attributable to the CCC and its officers in respect of the preparation and publication of past reports and statements is removed.

Public submissions in relation to the Bill closed on 11 March 2025, with the Justice, Integrity and Community Safety Committee receiving nine public submissions. Submissions were received from the CCC, the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Commission, the Queensland Law Society, the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties, and a number of former Logan councillors. The Department of Justice subsequently posted its response to the submissions received.

The Committee held public hearings into the Bill on 24 March 2025, with the issues canvassed including the breadth of the new definition of a “corruption matter”, the discretionary safeguards provided to the CCC in determining whether to make a public statement regarding a corruption matter, the appropriateness of the CCC providing comments on whether a matter should be the subject of a prosecution or disciplinary proceedings, and the retrospective validation of previous CCC reports.

The committee is due to table its report into the Bill, including any recommendations, on Friday, 11 April 2025.

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Authored by:

Daniel Maroske, Partner
Anna Fanelli, Senior Associate
Caitlin Holmes, Lawyer
Jacinta Beecher, Lawyer