25 February 2025
4 min read
#Royal Commissions & Commissions of Inquiry
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This week, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) announced that it will investigate 6 referrals stemming from the Robodebt Royal Commission.
The decision was the result of an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge, Geoffrey Nettle AC KC, and reverses the NACC’s original decision not to pursue the referrals.
This follows the recent findings by the NACC inspector, Gail Furness SC, which revealed that the current head of the NACC and former NSW Court of Appeal Judge, Paul Brereton AM RFD SC, unintentionally engaged in 'official misconduct' for failing to recuse himself from the original investigation, despite declaring a conflict of interest.
The Robodebt Scheme was a welfare debt recovery program launched in 2016 by the Department of Human Services. It was designed to recover overpayments from welfare recipients and relied on a method called 'income averaging' to calculate debts owed by Centrelink recipients.
The scheme resulted in over half a million incorrect debts, many of which were deemed unlawful. The Federal Court ruled the scheme unlawful in 2019, and it was officially ended in 2020.
In 2022, the Robodebt Royal Commission was established to investigate the design, implementation, and outcomes of the Robodebt Scheme.
The Royal Commission’s final report was released on 7 July 2023. It found the Robodebt “a crude and cruel mechanism, neither fair nor legal”.
The Commission made 57 recommendations, including reforms:
As noted above, the report referred six public officials for further investigation into potential corruption, five of whom were also subject to referrals to the Australian Public Service Commission. The sixth person was not a public servant, but is likely to be a former minister according to the Investigator’s report. The identities of the six are protected in a sealed section of the Royal Commission Report.
Through a media statement dated 6 June 2024, since made unavailable, the Commission stated that it had decided not to commence a corruption investigation, including because it would not add value in the public interest because significant amount of work would be duplicated, as investigations into the same matters had already been undertaken.
The NACC was established by the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (Cth) (NACC Act) to investigate allegations of serious or systemic corruption within the Commonwealth public sector.
Its mandate covers public officials or associated individuals, including government employees, contractors and those delivering services under Commonwealth contracts.
To investigate, the NACC must have information showing the possibility that a person has done or could do something that:
The NACC has a broad range of investigative powers including:
The six referrals will be assessed by the NACC to determine whether any public officials or associated individuals breached public trust, misused their office or engaged in misconduct related to the Robodebt Scheme.
Following its investigation, the NACC will prepare a report outlining its findings, a summary of evidence and any recommendations for the Attorney-General. The Commissioner will publish its investigation report if they are satisfied that it in the public interest to do so.
The NACC does not have the power to determine the criminal liability or penalty for the referred individuals, but may refer evidence of criminal corrupt conduct for prosecution to other regulatory bodies that may impose civil penalties. Since 1 July 2023, there have been seven successful convictions resulting from NACC investigations. For example, in 2024, a NACC investigation resulted in former Serco officer, Dean Heywood to be sentenced to 2 years and 6 months jail for one offence of abuse of public office, contrary to s 142.2(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).
Please see our articles for further reading; Top issues referred to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission, Introducing Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Holding Redlich regularly acts for clients who are subject to investigation by anti-corruption agencies, including IBAC, ICAC and CCC. We are well-placed to assist in responding to any investigation that the NACC may institute.
If you require any assistance or have any questions about the NACC, please get in touch with a member of our team below.
Disclaimer
The information in this article is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this article is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.
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