The Federal Government’s proposal to establish a Commonwealth Integrity Commission is an important and timely initiative. But, as this submission by Grattan Institute’s Institutional Reform Program Director Danielle Wood and Senior Associate Kate Griffiths shows, the CIC will need more powers and resources than currently proposed if it is to be effective at weeding out corruption and serious misconduct.
It should be empowered to investigate serious or systemic corruption risks as well as corrupt conduct, and it needs to be able to acts on tips and information from the public, journalists and public officials (including whistle-blowers) – not just from other integrity agencies. And other reforms beyond a CIC are also needed to strengthen the integrity of decision-making in the federal government.