The Crime and Corruption Act 2001 takes effect from today which formally transitions the Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).
Acting CCC Chairman Dr Ken Levy said the legislative changes will see the agency investigate serious and organised crime, investigate corruption in the public sector, operate the state’s witness protection program and maintain the essential independent oversight of the Queensland Police Service.
“The CCC will continue the vital work of protecting Queenslanders from serious and organised crime and where necessary investigate allegations of corrupt conduct in the public sector. However, from today the CCC will do this with a renewed focus on the most serious and systemic corruption,” Dr Levy said.
“From today, a new definition of corrupt conduct comes into effect which raises the threshold of what falls within the CCC’s jurisdiction. Public sector agencies will also from today only have to refer complaints where they reasonably suspect that a complaint involves or may involve corrupt conduct. This is a significant change as previously any mere suspicion that a person may have engaged in official misconduct was referred to the CMC.
“Lower level allegations are the responsibility of the relevant public sector agency and our staff have been liaising with the Public Service Commission to ensure an appropriate framework exists to guide agencies on what to retain and what to refer to the CCC.
“The higher threshold will mean the CCC’s resources will no longer be used to assess and monitor lower-level matters. Our resources will focus on investigating the most serious and systemic corruption, which I expect will result in a more efficient CCC. The CCC will also develop a strong audit program to ensure matters dealt with by public sector agencies are being managed appropriately.”
Under the new legislative framework, the CCC will continue to assess all pre-existing misconduct investigations to ensure they fall within the new jurisdiction. It is expected all pre-existing CMC investigations will be retained by the CCC.
Another important change taking effect today is the requirement for complaints to be made via a statutory declaration.
“Complaints to the CCC must be made by way of a statutory declaration unless the Commission decides, because of exceptional circumstances, that a declaration is not required. If a complainant has a disability, medical condition, low literacy level or resides in a location that may prevent them from completing a statutory declaration, the CCC will assess these on a case-by-case basis,” Dr Levy said.
A new five-member Commission commences today. The former CMC Commission consisted of a full-time Chairperson and four part-time Commissioners.
The new Commission consists of a full-time Chairman, full-time Chief Executive Officer, a part-time Deputy Chairman and two part-time Ordinary Commissioners.
The acting appointments for the Commission are Acting Chairman Dr Ken Levy, Acting Chief Executive Officer Dianne McFarlane, Acting Deputy Chairman Sydney Williams QC, Acting Ordinary Commissioner Professor Marilyn McMeniman and Acting Ordinary Commissioner George Fox.
The five positions of the Commission were advertised on 14 June 2014. The recruitment is being managed by the Government. It is expected all acting arrangements will cease once the new Commissioners are appointed.
The legislative changes taking effect today do not impact on the CCC’s crime function.
“The major crime fighters at the CCC will continue to target organised crime through a raft of measures including covert investigations, intelligence hearings, proceeds of crime action and we will continue to assist the Queensland Police Service to progress their investigations by holding private crime hearings where necessary,” Dr Levy said.
The CCC will appear before a public meeting of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee (PCCC) on 22 July 2014 to provide a full briefing on the changes to agency and the impacts of changes to the jurisdiction. The CCC will also appear before Budget Estimates on 15 July 2014.
“Transitional arrangements are in place that will ensure the CCC complies with the new legislation from today. However, the agency has ongoing work to amend administrative and business processes to match the legislative framework which takes effect from today. Our priority at the moment is maintaining the operational focus across the agency’s crime and corruption functions while we are in a transition period,” Dr Levy said.
More detailed information about changes to the CCC, including how complaints by way of a statutory declaration can be made, will be available on the CCC's website or once the CCC progresses through this transition period.
Editor's Note: For a high-resolution image of the CCC’s logo for use online, in broadcast or print, please email the CCC’s media unit: [email protected] .
