Governance

Governance

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) governance framework supports performance across our agency, while ensuring we meet key accountability requirements.

To make sure we use our agency powers responsibly, effectively and in accordance with the law at all times, we are properly subject to significant internal governance and external scrutiny.

Our internal governance framework and processes ensure accountability and transparency and promote quality leadership, effective people management and efficient and ethical use of our resources. Our internal governance structure includes the ACIC executive and senior management committees.

External scrutiny of the ACIC is exercised by the Australian Parliament, Commonwealth oversight agencies, and state and territory government agencies including:

  • ACIC Board
  • Attorney-General
  • Attorney-General’s Department
  • Inter-Governmental Committee on the Australian Crime Commission
  • Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee
  • Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement
  • Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security
  • Commonwealth Ombudsman
  • Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security
  • Australian National Audit Office.
  • National Anti-Corruption Commission
  • Judicial reviews – primarily through the Federal Court of Australia

Legislation

The ACIC is established under the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) (ACC Act). Our agency was formed when the former Australian Crime Commission and CrimTrac merged in 2016, and is still known as the Australian Crime Commission for legal purposes.

Our role and functions are defined in the ACC Act and underpinned by state and territory legislation. We have a permanent presence in each state and territory and 3 offshore locations.

On 1 July 2016 the Australian Crime Commission Amendment (National Policing Information) Act 2016 (Clth) amended the ACC Act to implement the carrying over of CrimTrac’s functions to the ACC, including the provision of systems and services relating to national policing information and nationally coordinated criminal history checks. In doing so Australia’s national criminal intelligence and information capabilities were brought under one banner, allowing police, justice agencies and policy makers at all levels of government to adopt a more effective, efficient and evidence-based response to crime.

As a Commonwealth statutory authority, we also have responsibilities under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cwlth) and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cwlth).

Agency reporting

As part of the government's ongoing commitment to give Australians greater access to relevant government information quickly and easily, the original Senate Order was amended in 1998. The continuing order for indexed lists of departmental and agency files (on the Parliament of Australia website) requires departments to list these files on their websites.

The lists are tabled twice a year, once in the Spring sittings (comprising file titles created in the preceding January to June) and once in the Autumn sittings (comprising file titles created in the preceding July to December).

Relevant files relate to our agency's policy advice functions including any relating to the development of legislation and other matters of public administration. Exemptions are:

  • files transferred to the National Archives of Australia
  • case-related files (for example, personal representations or dealing with the personal affairs of departmental or agency clients or taxpayers)
  • files essentially related to the internal administration of our agency (for example, staff or personnel matters)
  • files related to national security matters.

2024

2023

2022

Paragraph 11.1(ba) of the Legal Services Directions 2017, issued by the Attorney-General under the Judiciary Act 1903, requires Chief Executives of agencies subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 to ensure that their agencies’ legal services purchasing, including expenditure, is appropriately recorded and monitored and that, by 30 October each year, the agency makes publicly available records of the legal services expenditure for the previous financial year.

This obligation was included in the Directions to enhance the transparency of legal services expenditure recording and reporting in line with the findings of the Australian National Audit Office in its report on Legal Services Arrangements in the Australian Public Service (Report No. 52 of 2004–05).

The ACIC’s reports on legal services expenditure for past financial years, including external and internal expenditure, can be accessed below.

The ACIC was formed in July 2016 when the Australian Crime Commission and CrimTrac merged. Reports on 2015–16 legal expenditure for these two former agencies are set out in the following statements:

The Joint ACIC-AIC Audit Committee has been established on the authority of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) and the Director, Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) (Director) in compliance with section 45 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and PGPA Rule section 17-Audit Committee for Commonwealth entities.

You can view the Audit Committee Charter below:

Pursuant to the Senate Order on non-corporate Commonwealth entity contracts, the ACIC provides a list of procurement contracts entered into which provide for a consideration to the value of $100,000 or more (GST inclusive) and which:

  1. have not been fully performed as at 30 June 2024, or
  2. have been entered into during the 12 months prior to 30 June 2024.

All procurement contracts required to be listed pursuant to the Senate Order can be found on the AusTender website.

Most of the contracts listed contain confidentiality provisions of a general nature that are designed to protect the confidential information of the parties that may be obtained or generated in carrying out the contract. The reasons for including such clauses include:

  1. ordinary commercial prudence that requires protection of trade secrets, proprietary information and the like, and/or
  2. protection of other Commonwealth material and personal information.

The accountable authority of the ACIC has assured that the listed contracts do not contain any inappropriate confidentiality provisions.

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission has estimated its cost of complying with the Senate Order is $860. This is determined by calculating the time taken to collect, analyse, and compile the information and applying salary costs and on-costs.

The APS Employee Census is an annual survey which is used to collect information from Australian public service (APS) employees on important workforce issues such as job satisfaction, employee engagement, performance management and leadership. It is also an opportunity for employees to tell the Australian Public Service Commissioner and agency heads what they think about working in the APS.

Findings from the APS Employee Census provide vital input into the State of the Service report by presenting insight into employee views about the APS, their agency and their workplace.

Further information about the APS Employee Census can be found on the APSC website.