Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

does not concur in the resolution transmitted by the Senate; and

notes that:

on Monday, 22 June 2026, the Australian Government commenced the process to select and appoint a Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner for the National Anti-Corruption Commission;

the Government is seeking candidates with the highest levels of integrity, leadership and decision-making ability for these positions;

the Government confirmed that appointments will be made through an open, competitive, and merit-based process, as all the appointments to the National Anti-Corruption Commission have been made;

consistent with the requirement under section 178 of the National Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2022, the Attorney-General will refer the proposed appointments to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (the committee) for approval before recommending them to the Governor-General for appointment;

there is a need to balance the committee's important role under the legislation with respecting the privacy of candidates and their willingness to put themselves forward as candidates;

the Government is committed to providing the committee with appropriate information about the proposed candidates on which to base its decision; and

the motion purports to expand the functions of the committee beyond that prescribed by statute.

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