2025-08-11
Documents forced out of the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner under FOI show the Commission has been actively concealing critical information about its investigation of the Robodebt scandal from the Australian public.
Documents obtained by Greens Senator David Shoebridge through FOI, after a lengthy battle, reveal that former High Court Justice Jeffrey Nettle found that each of the six individual Robodebt referrals “raises a corruption issue”.
These critical initial findings were deliberately hidden by the NACC in its public statement when it announced the embarrassing U-turn it was compelled to take on the Robodebt referral.
The findings are contained in a draft media release that was later edited by embattled Commissioner Brereton, and others in the NACC, to remove any reference to former Justice Nettles’ critical conclusions. Commissioner Brereton involved himself in this matter despite his publicly declared conflict of interest in the Robodebt investigation and the findings of the independent Inspector of the NACC he should have no involvement in the Robodebt referral.
The draft media release released under FOI is here.
Greens Senator and Justice Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
"This is exactly the kind of secretive, anti-transparency behaviour that undermines public confidence in our integrity institutions
“The NACC stumbled at the first hurdle in the Robodebt matter and then, even after an independent expert recommended they properly investigate, they hid the full details of this recommendation.
"What makes this even more outrageous is that these revelations only came to light through a hard-fought Freedom of Information battle that the Greens found with the NACC to hide the truth.
“An anti-corruption body fighting to keep key information secret really isn’t worthy of the name.
“This institution continues to privilege the powerful persons accused of misconduct at the expense of the many Australians whose lives were harmed by Robodebt.
“Commissioner Brereton's continued involvement in the Robodebt matter, even after being found to have engaged in officer misconduct, is unacceptable and further destroys public trust in the NACC.
“This is on top of Commissioner Brereton’s serious conflict in continuing to retain a position of Major General in the Defence Force while heading a Commission that is reviewing some 120 Defence referrals.
"Australians deserve better. They deserve an anti-corruption commission that operates in sunlight, not shadow and that can recognise a conflict of interest when it is staring it in the face.”