The watchdog overseeing the National Anti-Corruption Commission has announced it will examine the commission’s decision not to investigate six individuals referred to it by the robodebt royal commission.
The Nacc inspector, Gail Furness, said on Thursday she had received about 900 complaints about the Nacc’s decision “not to commence a corruption investigation into the referrals”.
“Many of those complaints allege corrupt conduct or maladministration by the Nacc in making that decision,” Furness said in a statement.
“I also note there has been much public commentary. Accordingly, I have decided to inquire into that decision. I anticipate I will make my findings public in due course.”
The inspector is independent of the Nacc and responsible for investigating complaints of potential corruption or maladministration relating to the body.
Last Thursday, the Nacc announced it was “unlikely it would obtain significant new evidence” about the six referred individuals and had concluded it was “undesirable for a number of reasons to conduct multiple investigations into the same matter”.
The conduct of the six unnamed public officials had been “fully explored” by the royal commission and “extensively discussed in its final report” in July, the Nacc said.
The commission noted five of the six public officials referred for a possible corruption investigation were the subject of referrals to the Australian Public Service Commission.
“There is not value in duplicating work that has been or is being done by others, in this case with the investigatory powers of the royal commission and the remedial powers of the APSC,” it said.
Paul Brereton, the Nacc commissioner, delegated the decision not to pursue an investigation to a deputy commissioner “to avoid any possible perception of a conflict of interest”.
The decision was met with anger by robodebt victims and whistleblowers.
Michael Griffin, who was hit with a false $3,197 debt in late 2016, said it was “shameful” and showed justice wouldn’t be delivered.
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In July 2023, royal commissioner Catherine Holmes delivered her report on the robodebt scheme, which she labelled “crude and cruel” and “neither fair nor legal”.
Referrals to the anti-corruption commission, police and other agencies “for civil action or criminal prosecution” were contained in a sealed chapter. This meant while criticisms of Coalition ministers and bureaucrats were public, the potential further legal consequences were unclear.
Separate to the Nacc’s investigations, the Australian Public Service Commission has been investigating the actions of 16 officials involved in the scheme after it established a taskforce in August.
The taskforce is examining whether the 16 federal public servants breached requirements of the code of conduct. If found in breach, those still employed could be sacked, or have their salaries or classifications reduced.
The APSC head, Gordon de Brouwer, told Senate estimates in May one of the 16 people “did not meet the threshold to issue a notice of suspected breach”. Seven final determinations – meaning findings – had been given and another seven were still under way. The final outcomes were expected to be made public by July.