What it does
The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011 (the Act) establishes and empowers the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) as Victoria's primary integrity agency for detecting, investigating and preventing corrupt conduct and police personnel misconduct. At its core, the Act operationalises the objects set out in s.8: identifying, exposing and investigating corrupt conduct (defined expansively in s.4 to include dishonest performance of public functions, breaches of public trust, misuse of information, and conduct intended to improperly secure licences, appointments or benefits under s.4(1)(da)); identifying and investigating police personnel conduct and misconduct (s.5, cross-referenced to the Victoria Police Act 2013); assessing police personnel conduct; and assisting in prevention through education, systems examination and capacity-building (s.15(5)–(7)).
The Act is structured in ten Parts. Part 1 contains preliminary provisions, including an unusually long interpretation section (s.3) with over 50 defined terms, many incorporating definitions by reference from cognate legislation (e.g. assessable disclosure, detrimental action from the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012; breach of discipline, Chief Commissioner of Police, member of Victoria Police personnel, police officer, protective services officer from the Victoria Police Act 2013). Section 4 defines corrupt conduct as conduct that adversely affects honest performance of public functions, constitutes dishonest performance, knowingly or recklessly breaches public trust, misuses information acquired in a public role, or is intended to adversely affect performance so as to secure an improper benefit (with assumptions as to mens rea under s.4(1A)). The definition applies extraterritorially (s.4(2)) but excludes certain electoral matters (s.4(3)). Section 5 separately defines , and , distinguishing between sworn police/protective services officers and other Victoria Police employees/recruits. Public bodies, public officers and the public sector are defined in s.6, expressly excluding the IBAC itself, IBAC Officers, Integrity Oversight Victoria and courts/investigating panels (s.6(2)).