If you have ever watched televised public examinations of senior Victorian public servants and wondered who, exactly, runs them — the answer is the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission. IBAC is Victoria’s principal integrity body, and its operations have shaped how the state thinks about corruption, police misconduct and accountability for more than a decade.
IBAC is independent of government, independent of Victoria Police, and answerable to a Parliamentary committee. Its remit covers both public-sector corruption and police misconduct, and it has powers — including the power to compel evidence and hold public examinations — that go well beyond a conventional law-enforcement agency.
How IBAC was established
IBAC was established under the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 and began operations in 2012. It replaced and absorbed the Office of Police Integrity (OPI), the previous body responsible for police-conduct oversight, and brought public-sector corruption under the same roof.
The decision to fold police oversight and public-sector corruption into a single agency was deliberate. It reflected a view, shared in several Australian jurisdictions, that integrity bodies benefit from a broad remit and the institutional independence that comes with it. Victoria’s model is broadly comparable to New South Wales’s ICAC and Queensland’s CCC, though each jurisdiction has its own balance of powers and thresholds.
What IBAC investigates
IBAC’s jurisdiction covers two main areas:
- Police misconduct. This includes allegations of corruption, excessive use of force, misuse of police information, misconduct in custody and breaches of the Victoria Police professional standards regime.
- Public-sector corruption. This covers state and local government employees, members of Parliament, the judiciary (in narrow circumstances) and contractors performing public functions. Procurement corruption, conflicts of interest, leaking of information for private gain, and the misuse of public office for private benefit all sit within scope.
IBAC also has prevention and education functions. A significant portion of its work involves systemic reviews and guidance to public-sector agencies and Victoria Police on improving their integrity frameworks. Reports on areas like procurement risk, perceptions of corruption in local government and the handling of complaints inside Victoria Police are published periodically.
Public examinations and the “exceptional circumstances” threshold
IBAC’s most visible activity is its public examinations. These are formal hearings, often broadcast live, in which witnesses are examined under oath about matters relevant to an investigation. They have produced some of the most consequential moments in recent Victorian public-life: revelations of conduct that led to resignations, criminal charges and significant policy reform.
The threshold for holding a public examination is deliberately high. The IBAC Act provides that public examinations may be held only in “exceptional circumstances” and where the holding of a public hearing is in the public interest, having regard to a range of factors including the benefits of public exposure, the prejudice to a person’s reputation, and whether evidence may be unfairly prejudicial.
This threshold has been the subject of ongoing debate. Some have argued IBAC should have a lower bar to public hearings, in line with NSW’s ICAC. Others have argued the high threshold is appropriate because the reputational damage from being named in a public examination — even where no finding of corruption is made — can be permanent. Both positions have force, and successive parliamentary reviews of the IBAC Act have reconsidered the threshold without fundamentally changing it.
Compulsory powers
IBAC has significant compulsory powers. It can:
- Issue summonses requiring a person to attend and give evidence.
- Require the production of documents.
- Conduct closed (private) examinations as well as public ones.
- Apply for warrants for telecommunications interception in certain circumstances.
- Refer matters to prosecutors for criminal charges, or to the relevant agency for disciplinary action.
The privilege against self-incrimination is modified in IBAC examinations. A witness may be required to answer a question even where the answer would tend to incriminate them, although the answer itself cannot then be used in subsequent criminal proceedings against that witness (with limited exceptions, including for perjury). This abrogation of self-incrimination is a feature of integrity bodies in Australia and is one of the reasons their proceedings carry such weight.
The Victorian Inspectorate
IBAC itself is overseen by the Victorian Inspectorate. The VI is a separate statutory body whose role is to scrutinise IBAC’s use of its coercive powers, to handle complaints about IBAC officers, and to ensure IBAC operates within the law.
The VI has, on occasion, made critical findings about IBAC procedures and recommended changes. The relationship is sometimes uncomfortable — integrity bodies do not always enjoy being scrutinised — but the layered model is intended to ensure that powerful coercive bodies remain themselves accountable.
The Parliamentary IBAC Committee adds a third layer of oversight, with a remit to review IBAC’s annual reports, performance and budgets.
Recent operations
Several IBAC investigations in recent years have shaped public discussion of integrity in Victoria. We will not rehearse specific case findings here, beyond noting at a high level that operations including those publicly named Watts, Sandon and Daintree examined matters at the intersection of party politics, public-service appointments, branch-stacking allegations and the use of taxpayer-funded resources. The findings of those operations are publicly available on the IBAC website and in tabled parliamentary reports.
What those operations have in common is a pattern that anti-corruption bodies see in jurisdictions worldwide: corruption rarely looks like a brown paper bag of cash. It usually looks like patronage, the bending of process, the misuse of information and the slow erosion of impartiality. The mundane appearance of most corruption is precisely why a dedicated investigatory body is required.
How to make a complaint
Making a complaint to IBAC is straightforward. Complaints can be made:
- Online via the IBAC website’s complaint form.
- By phone on 1300 735 135.
- By post to the IBAC’s Melbourne office.
You do not need to know whether your concern technically qualifies as corruption or police misconduct. IBAC will assess the complaint and either investigate, refer it to another body, or decline to act. There are protections for whistleblowers under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012, which can apply where a complaint meets certain criteria. If you are considering making a public-interest disclosure, it is worth getting legal advice before you do.
Complaints to IBAC about police misconduct can also be made through Victoria Police’s own Professional Standards Command, which handles a high volume of internal-conduct matters. The two systems work in parallel, with IBAC retaining oversight of how Victoria Police handles its own complaints.
What IBAC cannot do
IBAC’s powers are significant but not unlimited. It is not a court. It does not impose criminal penalties or convictions; those follow from prosecutions in the ordinary courts. It does not generally investigate matters that fall outside Victorian state and local government, although it can refer such matters to the relevant Commonwealth or interstate body.
IBAC also cannot investigate matters that are properly the subject of a court proceeding already underway, except in narrow circumstances. The boundary between integrity investigation and ordinary criminal-justice process is something IBAC manages carefully, including through liaison with the Office of Public Prosecutions.
Why this matters
The legitimacy of public administration in Victoria depends, ultimately, on the public believing that decisions are being made on the merits and that police are acting within the law. IBAC exists to provide credible, independent verification of that. It is not perfect. The thresholds for public hearings are debated. The resourcing has been challenged. The line between exposure and reputational damage is genuinely difficult.
What is not debated is the need for the function. Our newsroom will continue to track IBAC operations, parliamentary committee reports and the Victorian Inspectorate’s findings as they are made public.
If you have experienced or witnessed corruption or police misconduct, IBAC is on 1300 735 135. For matters involving Commonwealth public servants, the National Anti-Corruption Commission can be reached through its website. If you need to talk to someone about a difficult disclosure decision, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue is on 1300 22 4636.
