Overhaul of Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog recommended to broaden definition of corrupt conduct

Ibac’s oversight of Victoria police should also be strengthened, the state’s integrity and oversight committee recommends

Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog should be overhauled, with a broader definition of corrupt conduct that could allow it to pursue cases such as those that ensnared former New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian and her ex-partner Daryl Maguire, a parliamentary committee has found.

The oversight of Victoria police should also be strengthened, and the force legally required to implement Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) recommendations, or publicly state why it was not doing so, the committee found.

The integrity and oversight committee delivered the final report from its inquiry into the adequacy of Ibac’s legislative framework this week.

The committee made 31 recommendations in the 149-page report, including about follow-the-dollar powers, legal definitions, investigations, examinations of witnesses, confidentiality and information security, and that Ibac should establish a dedicated Aboriginal engagement unit.

It said the Victorian government should broaden the definition of corrupt conduct to include matters involving a serious disciplinary offence, misconduct worthy of termination, or other relevant offences or “instances considered in breach of public trust in the public officer by reason of their appointment as a public officer”.

The committee noted that the Centre for Public Integrity, Law Institute of Victoria, Accountability Round Table, Transparency International Australia, the former Ibac commissioner Robert Redlich and Ibac itself recommended broadening the definition.

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“Many argued that this change would align Victoria’s legislation with other jurisdictions like the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (NSW Icac) and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc), enabling Ibac to investigate breaches of public trust,” the committee found.

“NSW Icac provided a comparative analysis, noting that its broader definition allowed it to investigate high‑profile cases such as those involving former premier Gladys Berejiklian and Daryl McGuire [sic].”

In 2023, Icac found Berejiklian and Maguire engaged in serious corrupt conduct.

The committee also made a series of recommendations designed to improve the oversight and accountability of Victoria police.

The law should be changed, it recommended, to require police to implement Ibac’s recommendations, and to provide Ibac with a “progress/implementation report within six months and at reasonable intervals thereafter”.

It recommended that Ibac establish a dedicated police corruption and misconduct division to “increase public confidence in Victoria’s system for the handling of complaints about police corruption and other misconduct, improve its capacity to conduct effective investigations, [and] enhance its independence”.

It also noted that the Victorian government continued to consult on a police oversight model and was considering a separate parliamentary inquiry on the issue dating back to 2018.

The committee said Victoria police was invited to provide evidence for the inquiry and had declined to provide a written submission. It instead provided four short responses to questions on notice.

The committee asked: “Ibac currently investigates less than 1% of complaints it receives about police and frequently refers complaints about police to Victoria police. Is the current process working effectively, or should it be improved?”

Victoria police responded: “This is a question for Ibac and government. Victoria police notes that most misconduct complaints about police are received and investigated by Victoria police. How Ibac assesses the complaints it receives would depend on legislative and operational factors only appreciated by Ibac. Victoria police is not able to comment.”

The committee also said that unless there are exceptional circumstances, Ibac, rather than Victoria police, should investigate complaints and disclosures about serious police misconduct.

The law should be changed, the committee said, so that police could no longer claim that documents it collected during investigations referred to it from Ibac were exempt from freedom of information applications.

Legal changes should also be made to ensure Ibac is required to provide complainants with reasons when a complaint is referred to police, it recommended.