Australian Government - Australian Commission for Law Enforecment Integrity

About Us

    ACLEI has published a pamphlet, Who we are, which provides general information about ACLEI and how to report corruption. Other information about ACLEI appears below.

    Our Vision

    Our Purpose

    Our Responsibilities

    Our Role

    The Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) provides independent assurance to government about the integrity of prescribed law enforcement agencies and their staff members. The office of the Integrity Commissioner and ACLEI are established by the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 (the LEIC Act). The Minister for Home Affairs is responsible for the administration of the LEIC Act.

    Presently, those agencies subject to the Integrity Commissioner's jurisdiction are the Australian Crime Commission (ACC), the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the former National Crime Authority (NCA). Other agencies with a law enforcement function may be added by regulation.

    ACLEI's primary role is to investigate law enforcement-related corruption issues, giving priority to serious and systemic corruption.

    The Integrity Commissioner must consider the nature and scope of corruption revealed by investigations, and report annually on any patterns and trends in corruption in law enforcement agencies. Accordingly, ACLEI collects intelligence about corruption in support of the Integrity Commissioner's functions.

    ACLEI also aims to understand corruption and prevent it. When, as a consequence of performing his or her functions, the Integrity Commissioner identifies laws of the Commonwealth or administrative practices of government agencies that might contribute to corrupt practices or prevent their early detection, he or she may make recommendations for these laws or practices to be changed.

    Any person, including members of the public and law enforcement officers, can give information to the Integrity Commissioner. Information can be given in confidence or provided anonymously.

    In addition, the Minister may request that the Integrity Commissioner conduct a public inquiry into all or any of the following:

    Responsibilities and Powers

    Investigation options

    Information about corruption comes from members of the public, members of law enforcement agencies, and from ACLEI's own detection initiatives. The ACC and the AFP must also notify the Integrity Commissioner of corruption issues. Any information that indicates corrupt conduct has occurred, is occurring, or may be likely to occur, can be investigated by the Integrity Commissioner.

    The Integrity Commissioner decides independently how to deal with each corruption issue. The Integrity Commissioner is not expected to investigate every corruption issue that arises in Commonwealth law enforcement. Rather, the Integrity Commissioner's role is to ensure that indications and risks of corruption in law enforcement agencies are identified and addressed effectively.

    The Integrity Commissioner can choose from a range of options in dealing with a corruption issue. The options are to:

    The Integrity Commissioner will investigate when there is advantage in ACLEI's direct involvement, for example if an independent investigation would be beneficial, or if the use of ACLEI's coercive investigation powers would be desirable.

    Investigative powers

    A challenge facing ACLEI is that those law enforcement officers subject to investigation by the Integrity Commissioner are likely to be well-versed in law enforcement methods, and may be skilled at countering them in order to avoid scrutiny. As a consequence, ACLEI has access to a range of special law enforcement powers and methods.

    The corruption investigation methods available to the Integrity Commissioner include:

    In addition, the Integrity Commissioner may issue orders to prevent disclosures being made by witnesses about the nature and existence of ACLEI hearings. This measure is designed to prevent collusion between witnesses and other forms of compromise that may arise, if the fact of an ACLEI investigation was to become known. The non-disclosure capability is also one of the methods by which ACLEI may provide protection to whistleblowers.

    Maintaining the integrity of ACLEI

    The powers and authority provided by Parliament to the Integrity Commissioner are substantial. A variety of safeguards are in place to ensure that these powers are used lawfully, fairly and appropriately. A number of these safeguards take the form of external checks, while others are administered by the Integrity Commissioner as ACLEI's head of agency.  ACLEI's performance against these safeguards is reported in the annual report.

    The LEIC Act also contains measures to maintain the ACLEI's integrity. For example, the Integrity Commissioner is appointed for a once-only term of up to five years.

    The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Integrity (the Committee), reports to both Houses of Parliament on matters relating to ACLEI. The Committee comprises five Members of Parliament and five Senators. The Committee monitors and reviews ACLEI's work, and examines each annual report and any special reports produced by the Integrity Commissioner.

    In addition the LEIC Act makes provisions for dealing with issues that relate to the conduct of the Integrity Commissioner or ACLEI current or former staff members. Any person may raise a concern with the Integrity Commissioner or with the Minister for Home Affairs about the conduct of ACLEI staff.

    The Integrity Commissioner has an obligation to notify the Minister for Home Affairs of any corruption issue concerning an ACLEI staff member. ACLEI staff are under a like obligation to report corruption by other staff or the Integrity Commissioner. It is an offence for ACLEI staff not to discharge this duty to notify the Minister.

    The Minister can arrange for ACLEI corruption issues to be investigated independently by a Special Investigator, using the same investigative powers that are available to the Integrity Commissioner.