15 October 2024

Commission Statement

Disclosure of Information within Commission Draft Report

The Commission has observed with great concern the recent public disclosure of information contained in a draft report relating to an ongoing investigation.

Draft reports are provided by the Commission to anyone who may be adversely affected to enable representations to be made prior to finalisation of the report.

The draft report – or any of its contents – may not be used for any other purpose. Yet it appears someone has disclosed material from a draft report to the media and the media has disclosed it to the public.

Disclosure of restricted matter is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment for 3 years and a fine of $60,000.

Disclosure is not only unlawful. It is very unfair to every person who may be adversely named and whose representations have not yet been considered. The integrity of the procedural fairness process under the Corruption Crime and Misconduct Act 2003 is fatally undermined.

A copy of the statement can be found here.