Investigations into former anti-corruption chief Paul Brereton nixed over cost concerns

Two investigations into the former anti-corruption commissioner, Paul Brereton, pictured in 2023, have been dropped, the Nacc inspector said. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP View image in fullscreen Two investigations into the former anti-corruption commissioner, Paul Brereton, pictured in 2023, have been dropped, the Nacc inspector said. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Investigations into former anti-corruption chief Paul Brereton nixed over cost concerns National Anti-Corruption Commission inspector, Gail Furness, says systemic issues behind two complaints have been addressed Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Two investigations into complaints made against the former national anti-corruption commissioner, Paul Brereton, will discontinue after its watchdog said it could not “justify such expenditure”. In a statement released on Wednesday morning, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nacc) inspector, Gail Furness, said she would end the ongoing investigations due to Brereton’s resignation and her belief that the “systemic issues which had been identified have been satisfactorily addressed”. For Australia’s anti-corruption agency, perception matters. And it starts at the top | Deborah Glass Read more “Significant public money has been spent on these two complaint investigations,” Furness said. “In order for the draft reports, which are in part contested, to be completed, further considerable public funds would need to be spent. “I cannot justify such expenditure in circumstances where Commissioner Brereton has resigned and, in my opinion, the systemic issues which had been identified have been satisfactorily addressed.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Brereton, the Nacc’s inaugural commissioner, announced he would step down from the role three years into the five-year posting during a Senate estimates hearing in May. His tenure came to an end on Monday this week. At the time of the announcement, the anti-corruption chief said two investigations into his conduct while in the role were “drawing attention away from the commission’s core purpose of strengthening integrity”. “While I will continue to resist any suggestion of impropriety, I have decided that it is time, now that the commission is established and functioning with quality staff and good processes, to step aside and allow a new commissioner to lead it into the next phase of its development into a key and respected component of the integrity architecture of the commonwealth,” he said. One of the Nacc inspector’s investigations into Brereton arose after it was revealed the commissioner, who was once the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF), had not appropriately declared conflicts of interest relating to his ongoing role within the IGADF’s office or while overseeing defence-related referrals between July 2023 and October 2025. While Furness had prepared a draft report, she said it