The National Anti-Corruption Commission inspector is actively examining several complaints, including one from a former NACC employee, relating to Paul Brereton and potential conflicts of interest arising from his ongoing defence ties.
The inspector’s annual report, released publicly today, was given to the government last week, a day before the NACC chief announced he would step away from all defence-related corruption referrals following questions over his handling of those continued links.
His decision followed scrutiny over his continued involvement with the Australian Defence Force despite assurances he had stepped back.
As revealed by the ABC last month, Mr Brereton received special extensions to remain in the Army Reserve beyond the usual retirement age, enabling him to continue advising ministers and government agencies on matters connected to the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry.
This arrangement contradicted previous statements from both Mr Brereton and senior Labor figures asserting he had severed formal links with Defence.
According to the annual report, tabled on October 30, 2025 — exactly one year after NACC Inspector Gail Furness found Mr Brereton engaged in officer misconduct in relation to his handling of the Robodebt inquiry — the watchdog’s watchdog received four complaints about his ongoing role with the ADF.
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Two of those complaints have been dismissed, while the remaining two are under active consideration.
“The final complaint was from a then-current employee about, first, the processes followed by the assessment team when receiving referrals from the public and, second the management by the commissioner of a conflict of interest involving a defence matter,” the report said.
“The inspector accepted the commissioner’s response to the first part of the complaint. The chief executive officer (CEO) of the NACC gave evidence to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee on 27 March 2025 that the commissioner had recused himself from 6 referrals to the commission that related to Defence.
“One of those matters was the subject of the second part of the complaint. That matter was under consideration by the inspector at the end of the reporting period.”
The report shows Ms Furness received 75 complaints about the NACC over the 2024/2025 financial year, an uptick on the 50 she received the previous year.
“The themes remained consistent across both reporting years, that is complaints that the commission did not investigate a particular referral and challenges in contacting the NACC and concerns about the time taken by the NACC to respond to referrals,” she writes.
“There was a new category of complaint this year which concerned the commissioner and his engagement with the defence agencies.”
The NACC has been contacted for comment.
