750 complaints and reports about potential corruption, misconduct and maladministration in public administration have been made to the Office for Public Integrity (OPI) since it commenced as an independent office separate to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on 7 October 2021 to the end of the 2021-22 financial year.

In that time, the OPI assessed more than 700 matters under the ICAC Act and referred 283 for further investigation, including:

• 61 matters to ICAC
• 140 matters to Ombudsman SA
• 16 matters to law enforcement agencies
• 66 matters to public authorities.

The Director of the OPI, Ms Emma Townsend said the majority of matters referred to ICAC and Ombudsman SA were reported by public officers.

“The number of matters our office has referred to ICAC and Ombudsman SA since October 2022 demonstrates the continued willingness of public officers to report improper conduct and the expertise of the OPI in identifying potential issues of corruption in public administration that may warrant further investigation.”

In addition to its functions under the ICAC Act, the OPI also oversees complaints made about South Australian police officers.

“A significant part of our role is to oversee the assessment and investigation of complaints relating to the conduct of South Australian police officers.

From October 2021 to the end of the 2021-22 financial year the OPI received 1730 complaints and reports in relation to the conduct of South Australian police officers, overseeing 324 investigations into police conduct”.

Ms Townsend said that a significant amount of work had been undertaken to establish a new office and that she was looking forward to the OPI consolidating upon those achievements over the new financial year.

The OPI’s 2021-22 Annual Report is available to view on our website.