The long awaited National Anti-Corruption Commission is "underwhelming" and lacking in transparency, a year after it began operating, advocates have said.
The NACC had its one year anniversary on July 1, 2024 and has so far received 3190 referrals and is conducting 26 corruption investigations.
But beyond these headline figures, it was difficult to assess the performance of the Commission, ACT Senator David Pocock said.
"It's really hard to say, I'm sure they are doing good work, there'd be some very qualified, dedicated people in there working through the processes very thoroughly, but it's not something the public has a view over," he said.
The legislation that established the Commission provides for public hearings only when there are 'exceptional circumstances" and it is in the public interest that the hearings be in public.
The Commission provides weekly updates on the number of referrals it has received as well as how the referrals have progressed. Of the 3190 referrals, 2443 have been excluded as they did not involve a Commonwealth official or did not raise a corruption issue.
In his opening address last year, NACC Commissioner Paul Brereton said the overriding decision making factor in whether to pursue an investigation was the public interest.
"Above all, we will be concerned with whether and to what extent a corruption investigation by the Commission is likely to add value in the public interest," he said.
In 252 cases of referrals that have been assessed, the NACC took no action, either because the referral did not raise a corruption issue, there were insufficient prospects of finding corrupt conduct, or the matter is already being investigated by another agency or a corruption investigation would not add value in the public interest.
One of these matters was the referral of complaints that followed the Robodebt Royal Commission, which the NACC declined to investigate, a decision that dealt a serious blow to public confidence in the Commission, Greens Senator David Shoebridge said.
"When you add to that a complete absence of public hearings it's little wonder that there has been an ebbing of public confidence in the NACC as a serious corruption fighting body for the Commonwealth," he said.
The NACC's oversight body will investigate the Commission's decision to not pursue findings from the Robodebt Royal Commission.
Details of the results of some investigations have been made public, including the conviction of an AFP officer who misused a corporate credit card and an ATO employee who accepted a bribe. Charges have also been laid against a Western Sydney Airport worker who solicited a $200,000 bribe.
Mr Shoebridge said the results of the Commission so far were "underwhelming".
"If you are a minnow then you'd be worried, based on the actions to date, but the big fish seem to still be swimming free," he said.
A spokesperson for the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government had stuck to the commitment it made to create the NACC before coming to office.
"The Albanese Government honoured our commitment to legislate a powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission in our first year in office," they said.
"Only the Commission can decide what it investigates. The independence of the Commission is critical to its success."
Despite his dim view of the NACC to date, Mr Shoebridge said he was hopeful there was more going on.
"I remain hopeful that what we're seeing is the NACC version of a duck; it looks very placid above water but perhaps there is furious activity behind the scenes," he said.
Adjunct associate professor at the University of Canberra Dr Russel Ayres said the body should be given a "high credit" for its work so far, with the wider educative work that the NACC was doing across the public sector a bright spot that balanced out the Robodebt decision.
"I think that aspect of the NACC has been really positive and I hope agencies and public servants are absorbing and learning from those," he said.
