OECD Canberra

An important measure to create an integrity supervisor for federal agencies engaged in law enforcement - but restricted to the Australian Federal Police and Australian Crime Commission – has been examined by the Senate. Over a short period, submissions were sought and a hearing held in Sydney in April 2006. The report of the Senate Committee examining the bills was released on 11 May 2006. This report basically expresses support for the legislation, but sees force in the arguments put forward for enlarging the jurisdiction of the new integrity oversight body. It calls for a timetable from the government for enlarging the coverage by legislation. As it stands the law enforcement arms of the ATO, the Customs Service, Austrac and ASIC will not be covered by the new body.

The Commonwealth National Integrity Systems Assessment (CNISA) pilot study looks at the core integrity systems in the Commonwealth Government and administration and focuses in particular on:

	the Fraud Control Policy of the Commonwealth;
	mechanisms for dealing with corruption;
	mechanisms for promoting ethical standards in the Australian Public Service; and
	mechanisms for promoting ethical standards in the judiciary.

Research has been undertaken by the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University, (CAPPE). The methodology was based upon that methodology developed by KCELJAG in the QNISA. The project looked at three categories of Commonwealth agencies:

1. Agencies which set the policies, procedures and guidelines:

   	Public Service and Merit Protection Commission
   	Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
   	Attorney-General's Department
   	Department of Finance and Administration.

   
   
2. Agencies which either oversight the effectiveness of the integrity arrangements, or are involved in the processes for compliance:

   	Australian National Audit Office
   	Australian Federal Police
   	House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Finance and Public Administration
   	Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
   	Administrative Appeals Tribunal
   	Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
   	Australian Law Reform Commission
   	Commonwealth Ombudsman.

   
   
3. In the light of the decentralised management processes that apply in the Commonwealth, it was necessary to examine the processes involved in the implementation of integrity systems. Given the limited scope of the pilot, one agency, the Department of Defence was assessed as illustrative of the issues involved.