The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has been granted extraordinary coercive powers which, similar to a Royal Commission, are used in special operations and special investigations to obtain intelligence relevant to transnational serious and organised crime.
These special ACIC investigations and operations are authorised by the ACIC Board, and target the highest priority organised crime threats facing Australia and Australians. We work with many partner agencies to disrupt serious and organised crime networks, identify emerging threats, and develop intelligence to inform operational action and policy decision-making.
Our powers allow us to coercively examine key persons of interest under oath or affirmation and compel persons, corporations or government entities to produce documents, evidence or data. Examinations are only conducted by ACIC Examiners – independent statutory officers appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. In this role, they can also direct a person to provide access to their devices, where we’re able to collect and analyse data which may inform criminal investigations.
The ACIC has a wide range of other capabilities that we can use to complement our coercive powers and examination function, or vice versa. This includes technical operations, human source programs, data analytics, and physical surveillance. For example, examinations can support urgent operational matters with short turnaround times and can be held offsite or in regional locations as required.
Coercive examinations can have a powerful deterrent and disruption effect on criminal actors and networks. If an examinee refuses to attend an examination, refuses to take the oath or affirmation, or refuses to answer questions, they may be liable for a criminal offence or held in contempt until they participate.
Our examination capability is a significant tool used to help us identify and take-action against a range of pervasive criminal threats, which have proven highly resilient to traditional law enforcement methods, generating key insights into the criminal environment. The ACIC is committed to using intelligence-led responses to keep the Australian community safe.