Deputy chief justice and former Labor attorney-general Robert McClelland has been appointed head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Monday, after a turbulent first four years for the federal integrity body. McClelland will start in January with the task of restoring public confidence in the watchdog, which lost its inaugural commissioner early amid questions over conflicts of interest.
Deputy chief justice and former Labor attorney-general Robert McClelland has been appointed head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland announced on Monday, after a turbulent first four years for the federal integrity body.
McClelland, who served as attorney-general in the Rudd and Gillard governments between 2007 and 2011 and is the deputy chief justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court, will begin a five-year term in January. ASIC executive Christopher Savundra has been appointed deputy commissioner and will also serve a five-year term.
Rowland said McClelland had been selected through an open, competitive and merit-based process and had received unanimous support from the parliamentary joint committee on the NACC. The selection panel included attorney-general's department secretary Katherine Jones, retired federal court judge Raymond Finkelstein and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
The appointment follows the early exit of inaugural commissioner Paul Brereton, the former supreme court judge who cut his five-year term short in May, saying sustained focus on his handling of high-profile referrals had become a distraction. He left in July. Brereton's tenure was dogged by questions over his conflicts of interest, with his defence ties twice the subject of investigations by the NACC's own inspector-general. The commission also drew heavy criticism for initially deciding not to investigate more than 1000 complaints connected to the illegal robo-debt scheme, and for its lack of public hearings.
Rowland said in May that Brereton's departure gave the government an opportunity to 'reset' the commission with new appointments. 'I have confidence in their ability to contribute to the watchdog's important work to enhance integrity across the Commonwealth public sector,' she said in a statement.
Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash said Labor needed to ensure the new appointments restored confidence in a strong anti-corruption body. 'The first commissioner to the NACC didn't even last a full term, with there being serious concerns about his conduct and the way the commission is run,' she said.
Independent MP Helen Haines, deputy chair of the parliamentary joint committee and a longtime campaigner for an integrity body, said the selection process was robust. 'The National Anti-Corruption Commission needed a reset. The proposed appointments are an opportunity to rebuild public confidence and ensure the commission can do its job with independence, credibility and integrity,' she said.
McClelland was a Labor MP for the Sydney seat of Barton between 1996 and 2013. As attorney-general he pushed to streamline regulation of Australia's lawyers, strengthened discrimination laws and made changes to family law. He was appointed a Family Court judge in 2015 by then attorney-general George Brandis and to the Federal Circuit and Family Court by former Coalition attorney-general Christian Porter in 2018. A statutory review of the NACC is due in 2027.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The NACC was a signature 2022 Labor election promise, and public confidence in it has been shaken by the early departure of its first commissioner amid conflict-of-interest questions.
- The new leadership takes over while a statutory review of the commission is due in 2027, and after criticism over its handling of robo-debt referrals and its reluctance to hold public hearings.
- How McClelland and Savundra shape the commission in their first year will determine whether the watchdog can credibly investigate serious corruption in the federal public sector.
Background
The National Anti-Corruption Commission was created as a key Albanese government pledge to establish an independent federal integrity watchdog. Its first commissioner, Paul Brereton, was a former supreme court judge whose tenure became the subject of controversy, including over his defence ties, which were twice investigated by the commission's own inspector-general. Brereton cut his five-year term short in May, saying scrutiny of his handling of high-profile referrals had become a distraction. He left in July, and the government said his departure created an opportunity to reset the commission. A statutory review of the NACC is due in 2027.
McClelland brings a mix of judicial and political experience, including five years as attorney-general under prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. That background was central to the selection process, which Rowland described as open, competitive and merit-based.
Key Perspectives
The government: Rowland said the appointments would enhance integrity across the Commonwealth public sector, and that the selection had unanimous support from the parliamentary joint committee. Independent MP Helen Haines, who campaigned for an integrity body before the NACC existed, said the process was robust and the appointments were an opportunity to rebuild public confidence.
The opposition: Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash said the government needed to ensure the new appointments restored confidence in a strong anti-corruption body, pointing to Brereton's failure to last a full term and 'serious concerns about his conduct and the way the commission is run.'
Critics of the NACC's first term: The concerns catalogued over the past four years include the commission's initial decision not to investigate more than 1000 robo-debt complaints, its lack of public hearings, and the conflict-of-interest questions over Brereton's defence ties that twice drew the inspector-general's attention.
What to Watch
- Whether McClelland and Savundra approve public hearings and take on politically sensitive referrals after they take office in January.
- The statutory review of the NACC due in 2027, and any early recommendations from it.
- How the government responds if further inspector-general findings emerge about the commission's conduct and culture.