National Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Paul Brereton Resigns Amid Conflict of Interest Concerns

The National Anti-Corruption Commission's chief commissioner Paul Brereton has resigned from his role three years into a five year term, saying the public focus on him personally was distracting from the body's role.

Mr Brereton, who became the organisation's inaugural commissioner in 2023, was found in 2024 to have engaged in officer misconduct in his role as head of the NACC.

He has since faced pressure over his defence connections, with the NACC inspector launching an inquiry into the issues.

It was confirmed today in Senate estimates that Mr Brereton had received a draft copy of the inquiry report two weeks ago.

Mr Brereton denied any wrongdoing in announcing his resignation, which will come into effect on July 6.

"The ongoing focus on matters relating to me personally rather than the commission's work is drawing attention away from the commission's core purpose of strengthening integrity in the Commonwealth public sector, which has always been my primary focus as commissioner," he said in a statement.

Inspector's report, defence referrals

A report by the NACC's inspector into the commission's decision not to investigate referrals from the Robodebt royal commission found that Mr Brereton did not properly deal with a declared conflict of interest.

Mr Brereton had declared a "close association" with one of the people referred to the watchdog and delegated decision-making to one of his deputies.

It found Mr Brereton should have removed himself entirely from the organisation's decision not to investigate referrals.

He was found to have engaged in misconduct as defined by the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022 which was "not unlawful but arose from a mistake of law or fact".

In response the NACC said it would reconsider its decision not to investigate the referrals following the findings.

A year later, Mr Brereton said he would step away from all defence-related corruption referrals over his handling of perceived conflicts of interests.

It came amid revelations he was twice given special permission to stay on in the army reserves beyond retirement age to provide high-level support to authorities in relation to the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry.

In a statement, Mr Brereton said the organisation had assessed more than 92 per cent of 7,624 referrals it had received since 2023.

"Over the last three years, much progress has been made in pursuit of our mission of enhancing integrity in the Commonwealth public sector," he said.

"While our mere existence has influenced and shaped behaviour for the better, that has been powerfully reinforced by our extensive education and engagement program which has enhanced the integrity culture across the sector."

'Clouded perceptions'

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland thanked Mr Brereton for his leadership noting his service as Australian Defence Force (ADF) Assistant Inspector-General, Judge of the NSW Court of Appeal and as a major general in the ADF Reserves.

"Commissioner Brereton has made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of the NACC as its inaugural commissioner," Ms Rowland said.

The resignation comes as Mr Brereton was expected to appear before budget Senate estimates hearings on Tuesday.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge said the party had been calling for Mr Brereton's resignation for years.

He said Mr Brereton's "inability to appropriately manage conflicts of interest, including relating to the Robodebt scandal" had plagued the organisation and damaged public trust.

"It is striking that he chose to resign today, the day before his first planned appearance at Senate estimates, which was only scheduled following a successful Greens motion in the Senate last sitting week.

"The Robodebt victims, including the people who died as a result of that unlawful scheme, and the hundreds of thousands of Australians harmed by it, deserved better from NACC than they received under Brereton's leadership."

Independent senator David Pocock said setting up the NACC was hard-won and an important step in rebuilding trust in politics and institutions, but welcomed Mr Brereton's resignation.

"I have called for some time for Commissioner Brereton to step aside and I welcome his decision to do so today," he said in a statement.

"There have been too many perceived conflicts of interest, too many decisions out of step with community expectations and the need for the NACC inspector to intervene too many times."

Independent Indi MP Helen Haines said there was widespread support for the NACC to investigate corruption.

"But it still has work to do on transparency, communication, and public confidence if it is to deliver."