National Anti-Corruption Commission gets more than 1200 referrals in 100 days

The news: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has thrown out the majority of the 1247 referrals it received in its first 100 days of operations, the body has reported in an update.

The numbers: The NACC excluded 710 referrals at the triage stage because they did not involve Commonwealth Officials or raise corruption issues. The commission has opened nine investigations, six of which were inherited from the former Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity. The body was assessing 173 referrals, while 69 were in active triage and 188 were awaiting triage, the update said.

The context: The NACC is an independent integrity commission designed to investigate federal corruption allegations that was established on 1 July 2023. The Bill for the commission was passed in late 2022 after a number of amendments to strengthen the body — such as removing an "exceptional circumstances" requirement clause for public hearings — was rejected by parliament.