A national anti-corruption watchdog could be operational by the middle of next year, with the new Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus setting up a task force in his department to deliver on Labor's "paramount objective".
Mr Dreyfus, who has been in the role for a week, said the federal government was in a position to take elements from state and territory commissions in designing its own model, addressing what he said were serious flaws in the previous government's proposal.
Legislation before parliament drafted by crossbenchers, including independent MP Helen Haines, would also serve to shape Labor's model.
"It's going to deal with serious and systemic corruption, it's going to be able to receive allegations from a whole range of sources," he told the ABC.
The Attorney-General insisted Labor's proposal would also allow for retrospective investigations.
"We think that it's completely inappropriate to suggest that an anti-corruption commission, once set up, would only be able to look at matters that arose after it was set up," Mr Dreyfus said.
"That can't be right.
"None of the state and territory anti-corruption commission's function on that basis, they've all been able to look back into the past at their discretion when they think it's appropriate."
Mr Dreyfus noted there would always be debate about the merit and public interest in investigating allegations of corruption stretching back decades, but said the government's legislation would not set parameters on how far back any inquiries could look.
"I'm not going to set limits on this commission," he said.
"It's independent, that's the key to it.
"It's not there to accept instructions from the government of the day, it's there to be independent."
During the election campaign, Labor committed to introducing legislation for an anti-corruption commission before the end of 2022.
"If the legislation is passed by the end of this year, it will be a matter as always for the establishment of a Commonwealth agency of finding premises, finding staff, appointing the commissioners, and then then it can get up and running," he said.
"I'd be hoping around the middle of 2023."
While in opposition, Labor was scathing of the Coalition's use of discretionary grants programs to inject money into key electorates across the country.
Mr Dreyfus was asked whether such pork barrelling, as Labor described it, could be investigated by a national anti-corruption commission.
"If any program of the Commonwealth government falls within serious and systemic corruption, then that's going to be a matter which the commission can determine that it will look at," he responded.
The Coalition had criticised Labor for not backing its model for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) ahead of the election, despite the proposal being described as weak and secretive.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison refused to introduce the legislation to parliament without the express prior support of Labor.
