Date published 27 October 2021
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Last modified 16 February 2023
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Last reviewed 16 February 2023

Advice and resources to help you write your complaint

At the CCC, we encourage anyone who suspects that corruption has occurred to report it.

For us to be able to assess your complaint correctly, it’s important to make sure the content of your online form or letter:   

  • makes it easy for us to understand what happened
  • focuses on the facts of the behaviour or situation that is corrupt
  • contains all the information you have or can provide to us about the matter.

When assessing your complaint, it’s most helpful to us if you provide details of specific matters, including names, dates and places, together with any evidence such as documents, photos or videos that you can give us or enable us to obtain.  

We know you’re taking a big step by reporting corruption, so here are some resources and information that will help you make an effective complaint, either by using our online form or by writing to us.  

Once you're ready to make your complaint, you can use our online complaint form

If you are considering making a complaint to the CCC about corruption, these videos will show you how providing additional detail can make your complaint more effective. 

Each video will take you step by step through the type of information you should give us in the context of different types of complaint. But keep in mind these are only examples of corrupt conduct. Other conduct can also be corrupt conduct, such as fraud and theft, excessive use of force/ assault, extortion, unauthorised access to confidential information, and favouritism.      

Recruitment and selection panels

Procurement contracts and tenders

Unlawful instructions and improper requests

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Note: The names of the people in this video are fictional and are not based on real people or actual complaints. Any resemblance to actual events, people or companies, is entirely coincidental. However the issues presented and discussed in the video are regularly reported to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

If you’re going to fill out our online form, we suggest that, before you start, you read over this list of the questions we will ask you. There's also more detailed information in the sections below.  

    1. Is your complaint something that the CCC can deal with? You’ll be asked a series of questions designed to identify whether your complaint is a matter that the CCC can deal with. If not, you will be directed to the right agency.
       
    2. Your details. You’ll be asked for your name and address (including email address). You’ll also be asked if you have concerns about your complaint being referred to another agency to deal with, and whether you give consent to having your details provided to that agency.
       
      • If you don’t want to give us your name, you can make your complaint anonymously, but this could make it more difficult for your complaint to be investigated. If we don’t have any way to contact you, we won’t be able to ask for more information if we need it.  
      • If you don’t want to be identified, but are willing to answer any additional question we may have, you can use an alias and a generic email address, so that we can contact you.
         
    3. Who is the complaint about? You’ll be asked which department or agency the complaint is about, and if you know the name of the person(s) and/or section/work unit that your complaint is about.
       
    4. What is the complaint about? This question will ask you for a summary of the complaint or the alleged incident(s), the date and location of the incident(s), and if you have details of any witness(es) to the incident.
       
    5. Evidence.  At this point in the form you can upload any evidence that you have in your possession, such as electronic documents, scans of photographs, or videos. You can also tell us if there is other evidence in your possession that you are unable to upload at this time, or if there is other evidence you are aware of that is not in your possession, such as CCTV footage or medical records.

    Don't forget: When you're ready to start completing the online form, make sure you have all the information you need, including any document, photo or video you want to upload.

    Once you have answered all the questions, you'll have the opportunity to review your complaint before submitting the form. 

    Tell us the name and as many details as possible about the person or people you believe to be involved in the alleged corruption, including:

    • the person’s name
    • their position/s in the organisation
    • the business unit where they work (if you know this information).

    You should also think about whether you know of anyone who can support your version of events (for example, someone who witnessed the incident(s) you are reporting). 

    You should explain the reason why you suspect the conduct is corrupt.

    Tell us the details of what happened -  explain what you saw or heard. 

    Be concise. A short summary (one or two pages) describing the situation and conduct that you believe to be corrupt will make it easier for us to understand your complaint and respond in timely fashion.

    If someone else provided you with information, tell us their details (their name and position or job title in the agency) and what they told you. It is important to be as specific as possible. 

    Broad statements about someone’s lack of integrity or their unethical behaviour are unlikely to help us determine whether the conduct is corrupt or not. It would be difficult for us to justify taking further action about your complaint on the basis of statements such as: 

    • "…this happens all the time"
    • "…everybody knows what's going on" or
    • "…Mr X is corrupt". 

    It will also be more difficult for us to assess your complaint if you give us excessively large or multiple documents without identifying the relevant issues and the specific parts of those documents that support your allegations. If you provide us with documents you should clearly explain how they are relevant to and support your complaint.

    We need to know as exactly as possible when particular events took place. Knowing a precise or even close date will enable us to make additional enquiries, locate any other relevant documents, or identify other people and possible witnesses.

    If possible, tell us the precise date (for example, 25 March 2020) when the conduct occurred or the period of time over which it occurred (for example, between February 2020 and July 2021). 

    If you can’t remember the exact date when something happened, think about other significant events that may have happened around that time, such as:

    • going on or returning from leave
    • a change of staff in the workplace
    • a personal event such as a birthday or anniversary, and
    • when things happened in relation to those events.  

    Check your calendar or diary to narrow down the dates by reference to these other events.

    You can attach videos, photos and other documents (up to 20MB) to support the information in your complaint, but please only attach materials that provide direct evidence of what is alleged.

    It's best NOT to send confidential information to us via the online complaint form. 

    If you have confidential documents that you wish to give to us, simply tell us you have them. Also give us the details of any file numbers or reference numbers for those documents, so that we can locate and obtain them from the relevant agency.

    We may also be able to arrange a more appropriate way for you to provide your documents to us.   

    To provide feedback on this page's content, please contact us.
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