The Inspector and His Role

The Inspector is appointed pursuant to s.57A of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 (the ICAC Act) by the Governor.  The Inspector reports to the NSW Parliament through the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the ICAC.  The Inspector is supported by a small number of staff who are employed in the Office of the Inspector of the ICAC (the OIICAC).

Mr Graham Kelly was the inaugural Inspector of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (“the Inspector” and “the ICAC”) from 1 July 2005 to 30 September 2008.

His Honour Harvey Cooper, AM, is the current Inspector.  Mr Cooper’s appointment commenced on 1 October 2008 and is for a period of three years.

The Inspector’s Role and Functions

The Inspector of the ICAC provides a key element of the accountability regime for the ICAC.

The Inspector’s functions and powers are set out in Part 5A of the ICAC Act.  Section 57B of the ICAC Act provides that the principal functions of the Inspector are:

1. to audit the operations of the Commission for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the law of the State, and
2. to deal with (by reports and recommendations) complaints of abuse of power, impropriety and other forms of misconduct on the part of the Commission or officers of the Commission, and
3. to deal with (by reports and recommendations) conduct amounting to maladministration (including, without limitation, delay in the conduct of investigations and unreasonable invasions of privacy) by the Commission or officers of the Commission, and
4. to assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of the procedures of the Commission relating to the legality and propriety of its activities.

The Inspector may exercise his functions on his own initiative or at the request of the Minister or in response to:

• a complaint made to the Inspector;
• a reference by the Joint Parliamentary Committee; or
• a reference by any public authority or public official.

Maladministration is defined under s.57B (4) as conduct of a kind that involves action or inaction of a serious nature that is:

1. contrary to law; or
2. unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory; or
3. based wholly or partly on improper motives.