Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, I present the committee's report entitled Examination of the annual report of the Integrity Commissioner 2014-15.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—After examining the report I would like to make a few comments on it. The Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, ACLEI, is responsible for preventing, detecting and investigating serious and systemic corruption issues in Australia's law enforcement agencies. ACLEI is required, pursuant to the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act, to provide an annual report to the parliament detailing its activities and investigations.

The annual report notes that ACLEI's jurisdiction continues to expand. In July 2015 ACLEI's jurisdiction expanded to include the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, including the newly formed Australian Border Force. ACLEI expects integrating the Department of Immigration and Border Protection into ACLEI's jurisdiction will remain a priority into the foreseeable future.

ACLEI continues to receive a high number of corruption issues. In 2014-15 ACLEI received 100 new corruption issues. Comparatively, in the first six months of the 2015-16 reporting year ACLEI received 134 new corruption issues. This is a trend that ACLEI and the committee will continue to monitor closely.

The committee agrees with ACLEI's assessment that corruption-enabled border crime continues to be a significant law enforcement integrity issue. The committee had a firsthand opportunity to examine the challenges that ACLEI faces at the border during our inquiry into the integrity of Australia's border arrangements. That inquiry is continuing and I look forward to updating the House when the committee concludes its inquiry.

The committee notes that ACLEI's budget in 2014-15 was increased to over $10 million. This funding included $1 million of temporary transitional funding to prepare for the integration of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection into ACLEI's jurisdiction. ACLEI concluded the 2014-15 reporting year with an operating surplus of $1.4 million, due to ongoing difficulties in filing temporary vacancies and supplier expenses that were lower than expected.

The committee also notes that ACLEI has met or exceeded all of its KPIs in 2014-15. In particular the committee notes that the appointment of a workflow manager resulted in 96 per cent of notifications and referrals received in 2014-15 being finalised within 90 days of receipt. It also notes that ACLEI adopted the recommendation of the committee's report from the previous reporting period to implement regular meetings with partner agencies to oversee internal investigations and that the increase in corruption notifications and referrals reflects greater awareness of ACLEI's role in supporting the integrity of Australian law enforcement agencies.

ACLEI and its partner agencies have contributed resources to concluding historical corruption issues. The committee has recommended minor changes to the set out of tables to provide a clearer picture of the issues being carried forward and the agency responsible. Finally, the committee congratulates the Integrity Commissioner, Mr Michael Griffin, and ACLEI officers for the quality and readability of the 2014-15 annual report and for their cooperation and engagement during the inquiry.

I would also like to thank the deputy chair, Senator Catryna Bilyk, committee members and former member Senator the Hon. David Johnston for their contribution. I would also like to thank the secretariat—the secretary, Mr Stephen Palethorpe, and his team—the research team of Mr Jedidiah Reardon, Mr Josh See and Mr Michael Kirby, and Rosalind McMahon, the administrative officer, for their help during the past 12 months.

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