Independent Review of the Integrity Commission Act 2009
In accordance with section 106 of the Integrity Commission Act 2009 (the Act), the Minister for Justice had to commission an independent review of the Act (the Review) as soon as possible after 31 December 2015 to enable consideration of
- the operation of the Act in achieving its object and the objectives of the Integrity Commission
- the operation of the Integrity Commission, including the exercise of its powers, the investigation of complaints and the conduct of inquiries
- the operation of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner
- the operation of the Joint Committee
- the effectiveness of orders and regulations made under this Act in furthering the object of this Act and the objectives of the Integrity Commission
- any other matters relevant to the effect of this Act in improving ethical conduct and public confidence in public authorities.
The Honourable William Cox AC, RFD, ED, QC has been appointed as the Independent Reviewer to undertake the Review.
The Review commenced on 1 February 2016 and is due to report by 31 May 2016. However, the Minister for Justice may extend this term by written notice to enable the Independent Reviewer to complete the Review.
The Independent Reviewer called for written submissions from interested parties to enable consideration of the matters detailed above. Written submissions are generally made public. Submitters could request that their submission be treated in confidence, in full or in part, and had to set out in writing the basis for the request to be treated in confidence.
The Independent Reviewer is responsible for determining the confidentiality of any written submissions.
Submissions
Information has been redacted from some submissions to maintain confidentiality and protect personal information. The Independent Reviewer has decided that some submissions received not be made public at this time.
Parties making submissions were also invited to indicate whether they wished to make oral submissions to the Independent Reviewer, either in private or public hearing and again the reasons for their requests.
The Independent Reviewer is responsible for deciding whether to take oral submissions in a private or public hearing.
At the conclusion of the Review the Independent Reviewer will provide the Minister with a written Report of his findings and recommendations.
The Minister must in accordance with section 106 transmit a copy of that Report to the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly and cause a copy to be laid before each House of Parliament within 14 days of receiving it.
Queries in the first instance can be made by email to integrity.review@justice.tas.gov.au.