Victoria's corruption watchdog should be obligated to explain the "exceptional circumstances" surrounding decisions to hold public hearings, a parliamentary inquiry says.
In a report tabled in state parliament on Thursday, the Integrity and Oversight Committee made 16 recommendations as part of its inquiry into integrity agencies' witness welfare management.
Seven of the recommendations were directed at the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption, three at the Victorian Inspectorate and six at the Victorian Ombudsman.
The inquiry was sparked by January's suspected suicide of former Casey mayor Amanda Stapledon, who was under investigation as part of IBAC's probe into alleged corruption at the council in Melbourne's southeast.
It has called on the Victorian government to seek to change the IBAC Act to require the agency to submit a special report for any investigation in which public examinations are held.
Within it, the commissioner would set out reasons for his or her decision to hold public examinations as part of the probe.
"IBAC's power to hold public examinations is extraordinary," the 185-page report said.
Under the legislation, IBAC's default position is to hold hearings in private unless, on reasonable grounds, it considers there are exceptional circumstances, it is in the public interest to publicly examine a witness, and won't cause unreasonable damage to a person's reputation, safety or wellbeing.
Special reports would address these mandatory criteria, outlining the "exceptional circumstances" that led to the decision, public interest in it and consideration given to risks that any person's reputation would be damaged.
It would combat the "profound (public) misunderstanding" of how and why IBAC exercises its power, the report said.
The inquiry also wants the IBAC Act tweaked to let witnesses gagged by a confidentiality notice to disclose restricted matters to a mental health-aligned telephone or online helplines, unless the watchdog explicitly directs them not to.
While noting it has launched a dedicated witness liaison team, the corruption watchdog said it would carefully consider the report before formally responding to its full findings and recommendations.
"Witness welfare is a primary consideration for IBAC in all its work," chief executive Marlo Baragwanath said.
Dissenting Liberal committee members Brad Rowswell and Kim Wells criticised how the Labor-dominated inquiry was run, claiming the body "fundamentally abrogated" its responsibilities to witnesses, integrity bodies, the parliament and Victorians.
"Throughout the course of this inquiry, opposition members have become aware of Labor government members being directed by operatives within the premier's private office," they wrote in a 14-page minority report.
"Opposition members of this committee believe that the work of the IOC should be removed from party politics."
Premier Daniel Andrews denied the allegation of interference from his office, saying parliamentary committees operate under established rules.
"As I understand, some of this work relates to a person who took their life who was a witness. I'm not going to get into political games about that," he told reporters.
Former chair Harriet Shing told staff in May to cut the inquiry's hearing video feed when IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich was asked why Mr Andrews was examined in private as part of its Operation Watts and Operation Sandon probes.
The premier was interviewed for both inquiries but not the subject of either.
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