Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, I present the committee's report entitled Examination of the annual report of the Australian Crime Commission 2013-14, together with evidence received by the committee.

The Australian Crime Commission Act requires the ACC to provide an annual report to the parliament pursuant to subsection 61(2). The report details the ACC's key priorities in 2013-14, including:

The ACC reported a deficit of $6.3 million that was the result of an unfunded depreciation of $7.3 million. But for this depreciation the ACC would have reported a modest surplus of $1 million for 2013-14.

The committee has revised the method by which it completes its review of the ACC's annual report. This includes a greater focus on whether agencies have met their key performance indicators.

In its annual report the ACC included information about its ongoing task force work which is of continuing interest to the committee. Coverage included updates on the Australian Gangs Intelligence Coordination Centre, an ACC led multi-agency taskforce that is a key element of the government's strategy to reduce outlaw motorcycle gang related crime. Some of the taskforce's successes have included:

The report discusses the ACC's requirement to manage several key federal law enforcement tools, databases and forums, including:

The ACC also continued its advocacy for a replacement of the national criminal intelligence database, to be called the National Criminal Intelligence System (NCIS). This new system is being designed to replace the Australian Criminal Intelligence Database and Australian Law Enforcement Intelligence Network. The ACC raised the benefits an updated system would provide to the Commonwealth and state and territory governments in their efforts to fight multi-jurisdictional crime.

The ACC again cited task force Eligo as an example of effective reduction of money laundering through effective collaboration between law enforcement and other agency partners and the remittance industry. Eligo has been responsible for the seizure of $54 million in cash and over a tonne of illicit drugs.

Similarly, Task Force Attero has resulted in the arrest of more than 2,275 outlaw motorcycle gang members and its associates. This task force has subsequently been expanded to Task Force Morpheus, which will have a broader focus. Attero has also resulted in the seizure of 39 firearms and $15.4 million in taxation liabilities.

The committee notes that 2013-14 marks the first year of the ACC's new KPIs. While the committee appreciates the ACC's work in developing the new KPIs, and noting that some of the ACC's work is unquantifiable, it is concerning there is a lack of quantitative KPIs. The committee notes the Australian National Audit Office's preference for a mix of qualitative and quantitative KPIs.

The committee notes the high levels of satisfaction expressed in the ACC's stakeholder survey. However, the committee is not convinced that the new KPIs provide a more measureable basis for performance assessment, noting that this year was their first full year of use by the ACC.

As noted last year, the committee expects that the performance results of the ACC will be measureable over time, and encourages the ACC to examine whether the KPIs are instructive, and achieve an appropriate mix between qualitative and quantitative indicators. The committee will continue to examine the performance of the ACC against the new KPIs in the ACC's next annual report.

The ACC included results of the stakeholder survey in its annual report, but is not persuaded they provide a measurable basis for performance assessment.

The committee acknowledges the solid work of the ACC during the 2013-14 period and for their cooperation and engagement during this inquiry.

On behalf of the committee, I wish to thank the former CEO of the Australian Crime Commission, Mr John Lawler, and the new CEO, Mr Chris Dawson, for their preparation of the 2013-14 annual report, and the tireless work of the secretariat in supporting the committee.