Independent Commission Against Corruption (SA) 

Act: Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA).¹

Established: The Act commenced in 2013. It was substantially restructured by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (CPIPC Recommendations) Amendment Act 2021 (SA), effective 7 October 2021, following recommendations of Parliament's Crime and Public Integrity Policy Committee. Those amendments also renamed the Act itself, from the "Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2012" to the "Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012" — a change worth noticing in its own right, since older sources and older citations of the Act will use the earlier name.

Purpose: The Commission investigates corruption in public administration, defined in s 5 of the Act as specified criminal offences under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) and the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 (SA) — including abuse of public office and bribery of a public officer — committed by a public officer. This is deliberately narrower than the Commission's pre-2021 jurisdiction, which also covered misconduct and maladministration; those matters are now the responsibility of the Office for Public Integrity and, where appropriate, Ombudsman SA instead.

A naming collision worth stating plainly

New South Wales also has a body called the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The two names are not merely similar — they are identical. They are, however, two entirely distinct statutory bodies: separately established, separately constituted, and governed by separately defined jurisdictions under different states' legislation. NSW's ICAC investigates "corrupt conduct" as defined and narrowed by the High Court in Independent Commission Against Corruption v Cunneen [2015] HCA 14 (cited here only as background on the differently-scoped NSW body, not as South Australian authority); SA's Commission investigates "corruption in public administration" as defined in s 5 of its own, differently-worded Act, following its own, differently-timed 2021 restructuring. A student citing "the ICAC's" jurisdiction, powers, or a case about it must say which state's ICAC they mean — naming the body alone is not enough once both exist in the same national teaching corpus.

Powers conferred under the Act

The Commission holds investigative powers comparable to a standing royal commission, including examinations, compulsory production of documents and information, and (subject to statutory safeguards) hearings where warranted by the matter under investigation.

Is it a prosecuting authority?

No. Where an investigation discloses evidence of an offence, the Commission refers the matter to South Australia Police or the Director of Public Prosecutions rather than prosecuting it itself.

How it relates to the other SA integrity bodies

The Commission does not receive complaints directly from the public — that is the Office for Public Integrity's role, which assesses incoming reports and refers genuine corruption matters to the Commission. The Commission's own exercise of its powers is in turn reviewed by the Office of the Inspector as part of that office's annual review. Where the alleged conduct is misconduct or maladministration rather than corruption as narrowly defined in s 5, it is Ombudsman SA, not the Commission, that is the relevant body.

Self-check

• Have I distinguished this body from New South Wales's identically-named Independent Commission Against Corruption, rather than assuming a shared name means a shared jurisdiction or powers?
• Have I stated the Commission's post-October-2021 jurisdiction (corruption only), not its broader pre-2021 jurisdiction (corruption, misconduct and maladministration together)?
• Have I stated that the Commission refers disclosed offences to SA Police or the DPP rather than prosecuting them itself?