The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a formal inquiry into the NACC's performance of its functions, examining how effectively Australia's key anti-corruption body is operating. This follows significant community concern that the NACC is failing to deliver on community expectations and has been mired in scandals about conflict of interest management.
Submissions from the public and stakeholders are open until 29 May 2026, with the Committee due to report by 26 October 2026. The inquiry page is here.
As stated by Senator Shoebridge, Greens Justice Spokesperson and member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the NACC David Shoebridge:
"Australians have been watching the NACC operate in the shadows for years and with this inquiry it's time to drag this body into the light."
"NACC has no public hearings, no regular updates and zero cooperation with whistleblowers and complainants. That is a recipe for destroying public trust, not fighting corruption.
"As one of the many people who have lodged complaints with the NACC I know how people feel when they report serious corruption concerns and are met with total silence for months ticking over to years.
"I hope that with this inquiry the public can get a voice to tell us directly their thoughts on the processes and functions of the NACC and how to fix it. For too long this entire conversation has been captured by the Labor and Liberal parties who are so conflicted.
"What I repeatedly hear from the public is that they think the NACC is a joke, a hamstrung and secret tribunal that is fundamentally failing to root out federal corruption.
"This inquiry has been called while the Inspector is undertaking a separate and independent investigation into concerns about the NACC Commissioner's actual or perceived conflicts of interest. To respect that independence it is right that this inquiry does not cover that same ground.
"The test of this inquiry is simple: will it produce a pathway to a NACC that the public can actually see doing its job? To do that it will have to give a pathway for serious reform so that whistleblowers are respected, the cloak of secrecy is pulled back and people can see how corruption is being tackled," Senator Shoebridge said.
