Nacc chief Paul Brereton resigns as head of anti-corruption body | National Anti-Corruption Commission
Australia’s first national anti-corruption commissioner, Paul Brereton, will step down from his senior post in July, arguing that criticism of potential conflicts of interest “diverts attention from the core purpose of the institution”.
In a statement on Monday afternoon, Brereton said that “focusing on matters that concern me personally” “diverts attention from the commission’s core purpose of strengthening integrity.”
“I believe that the success of the commission is very important and does not depend on one person,” Brereton said.
“While I continue to resist any suggestion of impropriety, I have decided that now that the commission is established and operates with quality staff and good processes, it is time to step aside and allow a new commissioner to lead the commission into the next phase of establishing it as an important and respected component of the state’s integrity architecture.”
Brereton has been in office since July 2023 and his last day will be on July 6.
Nacc is expected to appear before the Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday evening.
Brereton came under criticism for doing consultancy work for his previous employer, the inspector general of the Australian defense force (IGADF), while serving as commissioner of the NAcc.
The work was related to his former role leading an investigation into alleged war crimes involving Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.
Nacc was also heavily criticized following the initial decision not to investigate six people referred to it by the robodebt royal commission in 2024. He later reversed this decision the following year.
The Nacc inspector, who received more than 1,000 complaints, found the initial decision was “influenced by bias” after determining Brereton did not recuse himself from the decision-making process despite declaring a perceived conflict of interest with one of the six people.
However, the report also stated that “there was no finding of intentional inaccuracy or other impropriety.”
A report was eventually released earlier this year, revealing that two of the public officials named were involved in serious acts of corruption.
Anthony Whealy, chief executive of the Center for Public Integrity, said public confidence in Nacc had been “tested by ongoing concerns about conflicts of interest, transparency and governance”.
“The controversy surrounding Commissioner Brereton has reinforced why strong institutional safeguards, including findings of bias and ongoing investigations into the handling of conflicts of interest, are so deeply important to public trust,” he said.
“We cannot trust the government to select its own observers. There are currently two vacancies in the Nacc that must be filled following an independent, transparent, merit-based appointment process to restore public confidence in this institution.
“Parliament’s oversight role in the process needs to be properly respected. Ideally, we would see legislative reforms to ensure these.”
More to come.
