By Sarah Dennis
The Crime and Misconduct Commission is an independent law enforcement commission set up to combat major crime in Queensland, including among other things, official misconduct in the Queensland public sector.
It does this by receiving and handling complaints and investigating public sector misconduct and corruption, and helping public sector agencies to deal with and prevent misconduct themselves. The CMC is independent of the Government. Under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 the Chairperson of the CMC must be a legal practitioner who has served as, or is qualified for appointment as, a judge of the Supreme Court of any state, the High Court or the Federal Court.
What is official misconduct?
Official misconduct refers to any conduct by a public official, related to the official’s duties, that is dishonest or lacks impartiality, involves a breach of trust, or is a misuse of officially obtained information. The conduct must amount to a criminal offence or be serious enough to justify dismissal.
What is the CMC’s jurisdiction?
In relation to investigations of official misconduct, the CMC’s jurisdiction covers all state government departments, the Queensland Police Service, local governments, most public sector agencies and statutory bodies, universities, courts, prisons and elected officials of state and local government. Under the Crime and Misconduct Act, ‘misconduct’ refers to official misconduct (which applies to all public sector officials, including police) and police misconduct (which relates only to police officers).
Official misconduct investigations are decided by an Assessment Unit within the CMC. These matters can come to our attention through our own intelligence work, through referrals by CEOs and police, or through any member of the public.
What are the CMC’s powers?
Under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 the CMC has the power, where appropriate, to:
• conduct hearings
• require anyone to give it information relevant to a CMC investigation
• compel the production of records and things relevant to an investigation
• enter and search premises
• seize evidence
• use surveillance devices (though not telephone interception devices).
The CMC also has powers under the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000, the Witness Protection Act 2000 and the Criminal Proceeds Confiscation Act 2002.
How should you make a complaint?
The CMC allows any member of the public to make a complaint to the CMC or to give them information, provided it relates to official misconduct in the Queensland public sector or police misconduct. However, even if the matter is within the CMC’s jurisdiction, it may be better to report your complaint directly to the agency concerned.
CEOs of public sector agencies are obliged to report allegations of suspected official misconduct to the CMC.
If you are the employee of a public sector, then you can report instances of suspected official misconduct to their CEO.
Complaints can be made in writing, over the phone, email, through the CMC website or in person.
For further information, please see: http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au
