National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton has been questioned over his failure to explain his ties with the Australian Defence Force.
Last year, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland sent a direct letter to Brereton, asking him to explain why he hadn’t clearly outlined the exact nature of his continuing ties to Defence and the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF).
While serving as head of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), Brereton was also providing advice to the IGADF, raising questions about conflicts of interest after his disclosures failed to outline the extent of the role.
In a response letter, Brereton said he has effectively outlined any potential conflicts of interest, saying “in my view, all declarations made by me have complied with the requirements of section 29 of the PGPA Act and section 247 of the NACC Act”.
In October last year, nearly two weeks after initial ABC reports revealed that Brereton had been secretly granted an age extension for the Army Reserves to continue providing “critical capability” to the Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry, Brereton updated his disclosure to outline his involvement with the IGADF.
His original declarations of conflict of interests in 2023, 2024, and 2025 never made any mention of this information.
Greens senator David Shoebridge said making the declarations following media reporting and public scrutiny signified Brereton’s “failure” as commissioner.
“Managing and responding to conflicts of interest is bread and butter work for any corruption commission.
“Commissioner Brereton's continued failure to deal with his actual or perceived conflicts of interest, and his lack of transparency about them, disqualifies him from the role.”
Independent MP and deputy chair of the joint committee on NACC legislation, Helen Haines, said this emerging information solidifies the need for the oversight of national bodies.
“Concerns about Mr Brereton's conflict of interest were raised with him almost three years ago, as the letter from the former attorney-general shows.”
“This letter reaffirms the importance of parliamentary oversight of the NACC.”
A spokesperson for the NACC told the ABC that measures had been taken to identify potential conflicts of interest.
“As reflected by commissioner Brereton taking an additional step in October 2025 to no longer participate in any Defence referrals … it is satisfied with current arrangements and strategies in place to manage any conflicts of interest.”
This article was originally published on Lawyers Weekly's sister brand, Defence Connect.
