What is the NACC?
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is an independent commonwealth agency tasked with investigating and reporting on corruption in the Australian commonwealth public sector and providing education on how to prevent corruption.
The organisation officially began operating in July 2023 and is governed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 (the NACC Act). The NACC has taken on the work previously carried out by the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI), which was integrated into the NACC.
Celebrating a two-year anniversary
In July 2025, the NACC released a report highlighting several high-profile successes it had achieved since entering into operation in July 2023, including notable investigations conducted by the commission and noteworthy reports it had released between 2023 and 2025.
Alongside these announcements, the commission also published a two-year retrospective, reflecting on the work it had conducted since July 2023.
Notable investigations and reports
The NACC’s July 2025 update highlighted several prominent investigations and reports:
- The Robodebt investigation, which is currently underway and is being led by NACC Deputy Commissioner Kylie Kilgour.
- The Operation Kingscliff report, published on 30 June 2025, which delved into serious misconduct by a senior executive staff member at the Department of Home Affairs.
- A follow-up concerning Operation Carbunup was announced, which revealed that on 27 June 2025 a former immigration officer at the Department of Home Affairs was sentenced for abusing her role.
Reflecting upon two years of operation
The NACC’s two year anniversary report also provided readers with statistics pertaining to its operational activities and their outcomes, including the assessment of 4,500+ referrals, the issuance of more than 329 notices or directions “to produce documents or information”, obtaining 47 search warrants, and commencing 55+ investigations and 40+ corruption investigations.
Commonwealth survey
In its two year reflection, the NACC provided the results from the 2024 Commonwealth Integrity Survey, which revealed the trends and observations provided by the 171 agencies and 58,309 public sector employees who participated in the survey.
Investigative themes
In its two years of operation, the NACC have been able to identify “recurring corruption themes in referrals and investigations”, which involved procurement, recruitment, public/private interfaces, and cronyism and nepotism.
Current investigations
The NACC also noted that of its current investigations (31 at present), it can reveal the relationships or connections between multiple investigations, which include:
- 15 connected with senior officials
- 14 tied to procurement
- 13 connected with parliamentary-related roles
- 6 connections with law enforcement
- 5 linked to recruitment
The importance of confidentiality
The NACC’s two year report also touched on the issue of confidentiality and explained why investigations are for the most part kept private:
- Making information public could compromise an investigation
- Confidentiality protects witnesses and whistleblowers
- It prevents reputations from being unjustly harmed
- Confidentiality fosters improved cooperation with individuals
What lies ahead
The report concluded by identifying what possible challenges the organisation may face in the future and noted that corruption risks are evolving – which necessitates the need for evolved strategies to meet them, which can only be achieved by working with civil society and the public sector.
Key takeaways
The NACC’s two year report identified important organisational successes, activities and operations currently underway, and what is needed to ensure the commission can continue to achieve its goals: continued cooperation with the public sector and civil society.
