Australian National Audit Office

Australia’s new National Anti-Corruption Commission is due to begin its operations today. Already there is much talk about who and what it should investigate. So what kinds of cases can – and will – the NACC pursue? And how will its performance be judged? The answers will be crucial not only to its own reputation, but overall public confidence in our newly strengthened public integrity system.

Leadership is one key to success

• But as an agency which still clearly has strong powers and substantial resources, its credibility now rests primarily on the good judgement of its leadership and how it performs.
• The first signs are good, with widely respected appointments by the government.
• tide in the affairs of the nation, which might significantly change for the better the governance of our Commonwealth.

A clear first case for NACC to handle?

• A clear example of the type of case the NACC should take on is the alleged abuse of public office by retiring Coalition frontbencher Stuart Robert.
• Vitally, there is now an independent federal agency able to investigate and say clearly if there has been wrongdoing, or not.

Who can bring a case to the agency?

• In fact, any member of the public can ask the NACC to investigate based on their concerns about what has been reported.
• In the Robert case, Services Australia is already investigating alleged internal conflicts of interest affecting contracts won by the same consulting firm at the centre of the allegations against Robert.
• Crucially, there’s another way the NACC can decide which case to take on.
• If its own risk assessments, intelligence or the public debate identify cases of concern, it need not wait for anyone’s “referral”.

Could PwC be investigated?

• There have been prominent calls for the NACC to investigate the PwC scandal.
• Here, confidential government information about planned tax avoidance laws was used by the consulting firm to help its clients avoid the crackdown.
• Or the Australian National Audit Office’s most recent scathing report on the government’s even larger health and hospital funding program.

Why other reforms still matter

• For example, it is hard to imagine a more serious lapse of public integrity than the Robodebt scandal.
• However, this is not the type of case the NACC is ever likely to investigate, because no personal corruption was involved.
• To prevent such massive failures of fairness, transparency and legality, we need other reforms, such as a far more robust Commonwealth ombudsman.

Expectations are very high

Of course, there’s even more which will influence the NACC’s effectiveness, including:
The NACC will need to be politically visible, yet totally independent. It must be scrupulously meticulous, but also clear-minded, values-driven and brave. All this is possible. But after years of growing expectations, the NACC certainly has no small task.