Royal Commissions & Commissions of Inquiry

Expertise

We advise on all forms of public inquiries, including Royal Commissions and investigations by the Victorian Ombudsman, the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). 

Our areas of expertise include:

• representing senior government officials and entities in respect of investigations into protected disclosure complaints, and whistle-blower complaints
• advising senior public officials and private individuals in investigations by IBAC and ICAC
• advising entities and individuals in respect of Royal Commissions, most recently in respect of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption
• advising agencies on the conduct of internal investigations after the disclosure and reporting of corruption, and on human resources issues which accompany these disclosures
• working closely with clients to identify key areas of investigation, and assist them to compile and review their documentary evidence in relation to the issues - 
  • where compulsory document production is expansive in scope, we utilise external IT providers and paralegals to aid in the document filtering process, thereby limiting the scope and cost of production. Of course, costs are saved without compromising on quality, as the review is closely supervised by experienced senior lawyers.
• working closely with our clients to identify the key legal risks presented by an inquiry
• familiarising the executive with the processes of the inquiry and spend time preparing the executive to answer questions effectively.
• where necessary and relevant we also retain and work closely with counsel and technical experts within and external to our client’s business, and obtain advocacy and other specialist expertise for the benefit of our clients.
• when required, work with public relations consultants in relation to media strategies during inquiries.
  

Experience

Royal Commissions and Inquiries in which Holding Redlich has acted:

• Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry (2001-2002)
• AWB (Oil-for-Food) Inquiry (2006-2008)
• Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission (2009)
• Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry (2011-2012)
• Royal Commission into the Home Insulation Program (2012-2013)
• ICAC Operation Acacia (2013)
• ICAC Operation Spector (2014)
• Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption (2014-2015)
• IBAC Operation Ord (2015)
• ICAC Operation Scania (2016)
• IBAC Operation Lansdowne (2017)
• Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (2018)
• Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety (2019) (Cth)
• Royal Commission into Management of Police Informants (2019-20) (Vic) 
• Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess (2020) (NSW)
• Judicial Inquiry into the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Program (2020) (Vic)
• Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence (2021) (Vic)