Corruption and Integrity Update – November 2022

This month’s Corruption and Integrity Update features details of the National Anti-Corruption Commission legislation recently passed, the Commission of Inquiry into the Queensland Police Service’s responses to domestic and family violence final report, details on the implementation of the recommendations arising from the Fitzgerald 2.0 report and updates on both the Public Sector Bill 2022 and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010.

National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)

The final day of November was a historic day for Australia’s integrity framework, with the legislation establishing the National Anti-Corruption Commission being passed by both houses.

On 10 November 2022, the Joint Select Committee on National Anti-Corruption Commission Legislation produced its report on the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill 2022 and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2022. The report made six recommendations, including an amendment to the proposed definition of ‘corrupt conduct’, extending the protections of journalists’ sources to include all staff within the relevant news organisation with knowledge of the informant’s identity, and requiring the NACC Commissioner to advise a person of the outcome of a corruption investigation if the Commissioner has formed the opinion or made a finding that the person has not engaged in corrupt conduct.

Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service responses to domestic and family violence

On 21 November 2022, the final report on the Commission of Inquiry into the Queensland Police Service (QPS) responses to domestic and family violence (DFV) was publicly released (the report). The report was commissioned in response to the recommendations of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce in ‘Hear her voice Report One – Addressing coercive control and domestic and family violence in Queensland (2021)’.

The Commission of Inquiry examined:

• whether there is, and if so, the extent and nature of, any cultural issues within the Queensland Police Service that negatively affects police investigations of domestic and family violence
• if there are any cultural issues, whether these cultural issues have contributed to the overrepresentation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system
• the capability, capacity and structure of the Queensland Police Service to respond to domestic and family violence, and
• the adequacy of the current conduct and complaints handling processes against police officers.

The Commission, among other things:

• identified numerous issues with the strategic and operational prioritisation of the QPS responses to DFV;
• found evidence that sexism and misogyny are significant problems in the QPS; and
• found that racism is a significant problem within the QPS.

The report made 78 recommendations intended to achieve direct, timely and measurable changes to improve QPS responses to DFV. Collectively, they are intended to support the structural and cultural changes required in the QPS to ensure that its members are best positioned to respond to DFV.

Included in the report is a recommendation that the Queensland Government establish the Police Integrity Unit as an independent and separate unit of the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) to deal with complaints in relation to police. The report notes that the vast majority of complaints against police officers are referred to QPS for investigation with limited or no oversight by the CCC.

Government Response

In response to the report, the Queensland Government will invest $100 million in a range of reforms and initiatives to provide enhanced support and protections to those affected by DFV including:

• 300 DFV support workers in police stations across Queensland
• 30 additional DFV liaison officers across Queensland
• 30 additional Cultural Liaison Officers across Queensland
• 10 additional specialist Police Prosecutors for Circuit Court; and
• the appointment of a Special Coordinator for Police Reform.

The government will further consider the recommendations which complement the Commission of Inquiry relating to the Crime and Corruption Commission and the Coaldrake review.

CCC response

The CCC has recognised the potential benefits of the report’s recommendations to establish a new and independent Policy Integrity Unit within the CCC and has noted the additional resourcing required to implement the recommendations.

Quarterly report on the implementation of commission of inquiry recommendations

On 9 August 2022, the Honourable Tony Fitzgerald AC KC and the Honourable Alan Wilson KC handed down their report on the Commission of Inquiry relating to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

The CCC committed to implementing the 32 recommendations and has recently released its first quarterly report into the implementation and delivery of the recommendations.

The implementation report highlights that five out of the 32 recommendations have been completed, with the remaining recommendations categorised as noted, in progress, noted but not yet commenced or as falling outside of the responsibility of the CCC. The completed implementation of recommendations include:

The CCC will continue to publicly release quarterly progress reports, which will supplement the current monthly reports on the implementation and delivery of recommendations.

Queensland Public Sector Bill 2022

On 25 November 2022, the Queensland Economics and Governance parliamentary committee tabled its reports into the Integrity and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 and Public Sector Bill 2022. The Committee has recommended that both bills be passed.

Throughout the committee’s consideration of the Public Sector Bill 2022, the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) and Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) each made submissions for the exclusion of the ECQ and QHRC from public sector review. The ECQ submitted that the proposed powers granted to a reviewing entity in a public sector review could “at best, undermine the independence of the ECQ” or “undermine public confidence in ECQ’s perceived ability to conduct free and fair elections.”

Review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act

 On 23 November 2022, retired Supreme Court judge Alan Wilson KC was appointed to lead a review into Queensland’s Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (PID Act). This review implements a key recommendation arising from the Coaldrake Review.

The PID Act facilitates disclosure of information relating to wrongdoing in the public sector in circumstances where it is in the public interest. It also provides protections for those who make disclosures.

In announcing Wilson’s appointment, the Queensland Attorney-General stated that “public interest disclosure, or ‘whistleblowing’, plays an important role in our modern democratic government. It contributes to open, transparent and accountable government and public administration.”

The PID Act was last reviewed by the Queensland Ombudsman in 2017, with the review ultimately delivering 40 recommendations as to reform which have not been acted on. This review is expected to be completed by 30 April 2023, and we look forward to any updates that the review provides in the meantime.

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Authored by: 

Daniel Maroske, Director
Angela Szczepanski, Director