He was the NACC’s first-ever commissioner
Former NSW Court of Appeal judge Paul Brereton AM RFD SC has tendered his resignation as National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) commissioner.
He steps down from the post, which he has held since 1 July 2023, on 6 July this year. He was the first person ever appointed to the role and was initially set to remain in it for five years.
Brereton attributed his resignation to the “ongoing focus on matters relating to me personally”, which he said distracted from the NACC’s core purpose. In February, The Australian Financial Review reported that Brereton was being investigated by an independent body over claims that he was still working with the Australian Defence Force as a consultant to the inspector-general following his appointment to the NACC – without the commission or the government’s knowledge.
NACC inspector Gail Furness launched the investigation after a review of NACC material led her to conclude that an agency maladministration or office misconduct investigation was necessary, she wrote in a letter seen by the AFR. Brereton was also found guilty of misconduct in October 2024 when he embroiled himself in proceedings that blocked further investigation of an army colleague - the senior public servant involved in the robo-debt matter.
Brereton had served as assistant inspector-general to the Australian Defence Force and authored an inquiry into war crimes perpetrated by the Australian Defence Force during the Afghanistan war. He had also been a major general in the Australian Defence Force Reserves.
“I believe that the commission’s success is paramount, and not due to any single person. While I will continue to resist any suggestion of impropriety, I have decided that it is time, now that the commission is established and functioning with quality staff and good processes, to step aside and allow a new commissioner to lead it into the next phase of its development into a key and respected component of the integrity architecture of the Commonwealth”, Brereton said in the NACC’s media release.
According to a statement from attorney-general Michelle Rowland, the new NACC commissioner would be determined through a merit-based process.
Brereton was previously a solicitor, barrister and senior counsel. He was once deputy chair of the NSW Law Reform Commission and deputy president of the Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal.
He has sat on the bench of the Supreme Court of NSW.
In his tenure as commissioner, Brereton said the NACC had reviewed over 92% of 7,624 referrals received in the past three years. The commission had also released seven investigation reports revealing corrupt conduct in law enforcement agencies, Commonwealth departments and government business enterprises.
The NACC had unveiled cronyism during recruitment, a secret commission in a procurement processes, dishonesty in senior executive decision-making, and the leaking of sensitive law enforcement investigation data to criminal associates, he said.
“Much more is underway. Our 34 current investigations cover former or current parliamentarians and staff, senior executives in the public service, contractors and consultants, and a grants scheme”, Brereton said.
