Date published
10 November 2026
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Last modified
10 November 2026
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Last reviewed
10 November 2026
In 2025, the CCC conducted research to measure perceptions of corruption in Queensland. This is a snapshot of key findings from a survey of Queensland Police employees.
Only a very small proportion of Queensland Police employees completed this survey. That means these results should be interpreted with caution and should not be assumed to represent the views of Queensland Police employees more generally.
- Nine in ten (89%) QPS employees agreed corruption happens in Queensland, with two thirds (64%) agreeing it is a problem. Corruption was thought to be more of a problem in local government (63% agree) and state government (59%) compared to the QPS as a whole (45%). One in three perceived it to be a problem in their workplace specifically (35%).
- QPS employees were most concerned about corruption in government recruitment of senior positions (81% ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned). High levels of concern were also attributed to complex government procurement for major projects (79% ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ concerned) and corruption amongst elected officials (77%). Two in three QPS employees also reported being concerned about corruption in licence or permit processes (67%) and/or in grant funding processes (67%).
- Corruption in police responses to domestic violence, and excessive force against detained youths, attracted relatively lower concerns (both 42%).
- Behaviours considered the highest risk included mishandling and misuse of confidential information (85%), bullying and harassment (83%), non-compliance with policies and procedures (82%) and problems in hiring and screening new employees (80%). Issues relating to improper lobbying (64%) or bribery (62%), foreign interference (65%) and the improper sale or disposal of public assets (63%) were ranked lower risk, relative to other corruption risks identified.
- Just over half of QPS employees (53%) believed their workplace to be ‘very’ or ‘fairly’ vulnerable to corruption, whilst close to half (45%) considered it ‘not very’ or ‘not at all’ vulnerable.
- A majority of QPS employees reported being comfortable lodging a corruption report with the CCC (65%), whilst far fewer (41%) agreed that they would be comfortable lodging a complaint to their workplace.
- More than half of QPS employees reported having witnessed or suspected corruption in the previous 5 years (57%). Close to two in three (63%) of those who witnessed or suspected corruption went on to report it.
- QPS employees were very confident they would be able to recognise corruption (80%), and seven in ten would report it (72%), despite there being an expectation of personal repercussions for many (58%)
- Relatively few employees expected meaningful action would be taken as a result of their reporting of corruption (29% agreed, 44% disagreed).
- Concerningly, there was an expectation that reporting corruption could lead to a loss of employment, with one in four ‘strongly’ agreeing that they could lose their job if they made a report (23%). A strong preference for anonymity in reporting was also apparent (47% agree).
- Half of QPS employees indicated that they did not prefer reporting internally within their workplace (49% disagreed this is a preference).
However, among those who reported corruption in the previous 5 years, the top reporting channels were QPS (58%) and the employee’s supervisor or manager (39%). - The CCC was the third most common reporting channel (29%). Similarly, for those who had not yet reported corruption, supervisors and managers were the most common reporting channel of choice (48%), followed by the CCC (42%).
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Topics
CCC
Corruption
Police
