Record workload at anti-corruption agency that polices law enforcement

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 26/11/2018

The federal anti-corruption agency policing law enforcement
agencies had its largest caseload on record last year as it
reported a backlog of investigations and detected deeper levels of
misconduct.
Australia`s commission for law enforcement integrity has also
flagged it doesn`t yet know how the creation of the Home Affairs
Department will affect its work monitoring agencies, as another
1000 staff come into its jurisdiction.
Inquiries into Australia`s border officials and federal police
ended in convictions last year after the commission caught them
acting criminally on the job.
Integrity Commissioner Michael Griffin reported the Australian
Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity reached its highest ever
level of operational tempo in its 12-year history as slow-burn
corruption probes reached an end, the number of staff it oversaw
grew, and agencies it monitored found it easier to detect possible
misconduct and more deeply entrenched corruption.
`Deeper levels of corruption are being found, with sophisticated
criminal groups sometimes targeting a number of staff in different
law enforcement agencies,` he said in an annual report.
The commission reported a spike in new cases in 2015 after the
then-Department of immigration and border protection came under
its watch, creating a backload of work carried into last year. It
received fewer referrals in 2017, and officials identified cases
to close.
A reshuffle of Australia`s national security agencies last year
could raise its workload again.
`The creation of the Department of Home Affairs in late December
2017, bringing into jurisdiction an additional 1000 staff, many of
whom perform potentially high corruption risk functions, is yet to
be fully determined,` Mr Griffin said.
The commission conducted 280 investigations last year, up from 240
in 2016 and 45 in 2013. New cases fell from 107 to 55 between 2016
and 2017.
Advocates for a new, over-arching federal anti-corruption agency
could seize on the commission`s figures, but face a challenge in
conflicting data about government misconduct emerging from the
existing patchwork of integrity watchdogs.
The figures don`t undercut a campaign for a new corruption-busting
agency, newly-energised by a crossbench that has won more
influence since the Morrison government lost its majority. They
also present a question for supporters of a new National Integrity
Commission in a debate scant on statistics.
New misconduct and maladministration investigations are falling in
other agencies tasked with detecting corruption in the
bureaucracy.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, monitoring integrity in non-law
enforcement agencies, reported the number of probes finalised fell
from 365 to 313. Reports of wrongdoing grew from 684 to 737,
continuing a trend in recent years, but many appear to have
emerged mistakenly from members of the public through Australia
Post.
`Australia Post has strong processes in place for publicising the
scheme on its public-facing website, which results in a higher
proportion of members of the public, who are not public officials,
seeking to access the scheme,` the ombudsman said.
Two hundred disclosures to Australia Post did not meet the
threshold needed to investigate as the discloser was not a public
servant. Investigation numbers fell at the Department of Defence,
but increased at the Tax Office, Home Affairs, and the
Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Monash University senior lecturer in law specialising in
government integrity, Yee-Fui Ng, said the figures gave only an
incomplete picture of corruption in the federal bureaucracy.
The mosaic of federal watchdogs was not `all encompassing` and was
not focused on systemic corruption.
`It`s a bit naive to think that it`s confined to the state level,
and the federal level is pristine,` she said.
`The point of an anti-corruption commission is it will try to have
a systemic look at what might potentially be corrupt. That`s the
reason why we want an overarching body to look at all the actions
of the agencies and look at a system level.`
The public service commission has previously argued against a new
integrity agency, saying misconduct levels were low, current anti-
corruption efforts already worked, and the federal government was
less exposed to high corruption-risk work - including planning and
mining licences - than state governments. Dr Ng said a new
integrity commission could investigate federal agencies and
politicians dealing in procurement and government grants, among
other matters.
In January the public service commission said the number of
bureaucrats witnessing corruption had risen to 5 per cent,
although fewer code of conduct inquiries were conducted. Australia
has slid from ninth to 13th in global anti-corruption body
Transparency International`s rankings for perceived government
integrity since 2013.
Another watchdog, the Australian National Audit Office, revealed
last week the Home Affairs Department and the Australian Criminal
Intelligence Commission were the first agencies to ever flag they
could try suppressing parts of its investigations into their
projects and spending.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten has promised to work with
crossbenchers to establish a National Integrity Commission, and
independent MP Cathy McGowan on Monday is expected to introduce
legislation in parliament creating the watchdog. Attorney-General
Christian Porter is considering how to strengthen Australia’s
patchwork integrity regime, but the Coalition is yet to determine
where it stands on a new commission.