Anti-corruption chief denies he’s breached public trust

Outgoing anti-corruption commissioner Paul Brereton mounted a combative defence of his conduct, rejecting suggestions he had breached public trust and warning against assumptions another adverse finding would emerge from an ongoing investigation into his handling of conflicts of interest.

In a tense Senate estimates exchange with Greens senator David Shoebridge, Brereton repeatedly refused to concede he had fallen short of the standards expected of the head of the Commonwealth’s anti-corruption watchdog.

Questioned over his resignation and months of controversy surrounding his undeclared work with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force, Brereton accepted only limited responsibility for the circumstances that led to his exit.

“I think everyone contributes to their own downfall, if you like, in some ways, and I’m sure I have contributed to this in some ways,” he said.

But later, when asked directly whether his conduct had fallen below the standard expected of the commissioner, Brereton replied: “No, I do not.”

The former army major-general announced on Monday he would step down on July 6, three years since he was appointed as the inaugural commissioner. He has repeatedly been scrutinised over his handling of potential conflicts of interest during his time leading the NACC.

In October 2024, the NACC inspector – the body responsible for overseeing the commission’s conduct – found Brereton engaged in misconduct when he involved himself in proceedings that rejected further investigation into the senior public servant involved in the robo-debt scandal, then-Human Services Department secretary Kathryn Campbell, who was an army reserve colleague.

It was revealed in February that Brereton was being investigated for officer misconduct – and was reprimanded by federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland – for failing to adequately address the nature of his ongoing ties to defence.

The Estimates exchange sharpened when Shoebridge accused Brereton of failing to grasp the need for transparency over his ongoing Defence links and argued the confrontation itself illustrated the problem.

Brereton rejected that assessment, insisting he had disclosed the existence of the relationship and that others inside the commission did not need to know the detail of the work.

“I have an absolute acceptance of the obligation to be transparent about things that are relevant to my functions,” he said.

He argued that disclosing the existence of the relationship — rather than the detailed nature of the work — was sufficient and maintained others inside the commission did not need to know the specifics of the less than 30 hours of work he said he had performed over three years.

He also resisted attempts to draw conclusions from a separate inquiry by the NACC inspector into matters relating to his conduct.

“The final report might turn out to be very different from a draft report,” he said, adding that at no stage had the Albanese government told him he had lost its confidence.

Asked whether the prospect of adverse findings influenced his decision to resign, Brereton said no. Instead, he said years of investigations and public scrutiny had become a distraction for both him and the agency.

“I have been under investigation in one way or another for the best part of the last two years.”

He also delivered a striking defence of his earlier officer misconduct finding over the watchdog’s abandoned decision not to pursue public officials identified by the Robo-debt royal commission.

Brereton argued the definition of misconduct had become so broad that staff now feared making ordinary mistakes.

“We now have a commission in which staff are terrified of making any mistake of fact or law because they fear they will be visited with a finding of officer misconduct,” he said.

Deputy commissioner Nicole Rose, who will also leave her role later this month, said the controversy surrounding the body played no part in her decision to resign.

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