Details of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the name of the federal level integrity commission, have been released ahead of the legislation’s introduction on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, attorney-general Mark Dreyfus outlined several aspects of the NACC’s design, with $262 million of funding allocated to NACC over four years.
The legislation, if passed, would permit the commission to investigate matters on tips, including from members of the public and heads of federal agencies.
The commission would be overseen by a statutory parliamentary joint committee, with the government saying it was committed to the commission’s independence.
Although NACC would be able to hold public hearings, the hearings would only be held in “exceptional circumstances” and in the “public interest”.
NACC would be able to make findings of fact and would operate under procedural fairness rules.
The legislation would provide “strong protections for whistleblowers”, including journalists’ sources.
“The National Anti Corruption Commission bill will have its own whistleblower protections, as is appropriate for Australian public servants and people working in the public sector who come forward with allegations that the commission should look at,” Dreyfus said.
Clancy Moore, CEO at the Transparency Institute Australia (TIA), told The Mandarin while the TIA welcomed whistleblower protections in the legislation, they were disappointed there would not be an independent whistleblowing protection...
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