Released 26/02/2018
The ACT Government will establish an ACT Integrity Body to further strengthen the administration of the territory, with draft legislation to be prepared this year.
The ACT Legislative Assembly Select Committee report and recommendations, which the Government has today responded to, will inform the establishment of this new body, which delivers a 2016 Labor election commitment and is an item in the Labor-Greens Parliamentary Agreement.
The body will be broadly structured in the same way as those operating in jurisdictions of a similar size to the ACT and will have its functions delineated from existing independent oversight bodies.
The Government has agreed that the proposed body will have scope to investigate significant and serious allegations of fraud and corruption by ACT public servants, ACT Police officers (subject to Commonwealth Government Agreement), MLAs and their staff and statutory office holders including boards and committees.
However, the Government does not support the inclusion of judicial officers within the oversight of the integrity body at this time due to the presence of the recently established Judicial Council and Judicial Commission.
The ACT Government already has a strong structure of public sector oversight, which will complement the new Integrity Body to ensure a highly transparent and professional territory administration. These existing bodies includes a Commissioner for Standards, an Ethics & Integrity Advisor, the role of the Auditor-General and ACT Ombudsman as well as staff Codes of Conduct and Ministerial Standards.
The establishment of an integrity body and the development of enabling legislation requires careful consideration, and the Government is working towards draft legislation being forwarded to the Assembly Committee in 2018 as per the recommendation from the Select Committee.
- Statement ends -
Yvette Berry, MLA | Media Releases
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