We assess all reports of alleged corruption to determine whether to dismiss, refer, or investigate the matter.
Once you’ve made a report to us, we decide if it relates to either:
- a public interest disclosure (Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012)
- a corruption report (Integrity Commission Act 2018 ((IC Act)).
After determining if it’s a public interest disclosure or corruption report, we will:
- dismiss the report (for example: if it does not meet our threshold for corruption, or is not in our jurisdiction)
- refer the report to another entity (for example: if it falls under another entity’s jurisdiction)
- proceed to become a preliminary inquiry
- proceed to become an investigation.
If you submit your allegation anonymously, we will be unable to provide you with an update about your report.
If you provide your contact details as part of your allegation, we will notify you of the outcome of your report.
Dismissed reports
We assess reports based on the definition of corruption under the IC Act (section 9) to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect corrupt conduct has occurred.
The conduct must also fall into one or more of the specific categories outlined in section 9(1)(b). Each category involves an element of a lack of honesty or impartiality, or a breach of trust.
If there are no reasonable suspicions, then the allegation must be dismissed.
If we are satisfied that a reasonable suspicion of corrupt conduct exists, we must then also consider whether the conduct is serious or systemic before we can investigate the matter.
If we dismiss your report, we may also give it to another entity that has the power to investigate the matter.
Sometimes, a report can be categorised as an ‘information report’. This is where the content of a report can be used as supplementary information to an existing allegation, preliminary inquiry, or investigation.
Referred reports
If we decide that it is more appropriate for your report to be investigated by another entity, then we may refer it to an entity that has the power to investigate the matter.
Where we refer your report to another entity, we may ask them for a written report about their investigation or action taken in relation to your report.
Preliminary inquiry or investigation
Where your report meets our criteria for corrupt conduct, we will proceed to a preliminary inquiry or investigation.
A preliminary inquiry is where we gather more information to help us decide how to proceed with your report.
When conducting a preliminary inquiry, we have the power to request information from the head of a public sector entity. We can also issue a notice instructing a person to produce information, documents or other things. We have further coercive powers available when conducting an investigation.
An investigation is the activity of investigating claims in a report. This will happen when a report has provided us enough to suspect, on reasonable grounds, that the reported conduct may be corruption.
There may be some cases where we cannot tell a reporter that their matter is proceeding to an investigation, if doing so could adversely affect someone’s safety or compromise the investigation.