Key regulatory and enforcement developments – 2022
In 2022, commissions of inquiry continued to be the method of choice for federal and state governments to respond to issues of public interest. During 2022, there were three active federal Royal Commissions (Robodebt, Defence and Veteran Suicide, and Disability), all of which will continue into 2023. There were also numerous federal and state commissions of inquiry. Notable examples include:
- the inquiry into the former Liberal Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic including the Halton review into vaccine and treatment procurement;
- the inquiry into the appointment of Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison to administer a number of additional ministerial portfolios; and
- the parliamentary inquiry into corporate solvency in Australia which will consider, among other things, the raft of temporary insolvency measures introduced during the pandemic.
Other notable commissions of inquiry conducted in 2022 included:
- the inquiries into the Star casinos in NSW and Queensland;
- the inquiry relating to the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission;
- the inquiry into the forensic collection and testing of DNA in Queensland,
- the inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's responses to child sexual abuse in institutional settings; and
- the Western Australian parliamentary inquiry into sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry.
In 2022, state-based corruption commissions conducted over 250 investigations and inquiries in relation to a range of issues, including political integrity, misuse of confidential information, lobbying and campaign finances, contracting in property development and large infrastructure projects and conduct of law enforcement agencies. These bodies also came together in December 2022 to launch 12 principles they consider represent best practice for Anti-Corruption Commissions in Australia.
As outlined in further detail in the Corporate Crime section of this guide, the NACC will commence its operations in mid-2023 and will have broad powers akin to a Royal Commission to investigate and report on serious or systemic corrupt conduct affecting the federal public sector and corporate entities who interact with them.
Royal Commissions and commissions of inquiry continue to impose significant demands on the individuals and entities subject to the relevant commission's inquiries, and the trend in recent years of significant media coverage and, often, very public fallout arising from commissions of inquiry was also evident again in 2022.
Likely regulatory and enforcement developments – 2023
In 2023, we expect that Royal Commissions and other commissions of inquiry will continue to be used by federal and state governments to address issues of public interest. By way of example, some of the commissions of inquiry that have either been announced or foreshadowed for 2023 include:
- the South Australian Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care;
- an ACCC inquiry into pricing practices deployed by the early childhood education and care sector;
- the ACCC's continued inquiry into the prices, profits and margins in the supply of electricity in the National Electricity Market;
- the ACCC's continued inquiry into the demand, supply and pricing of wholesale gas in Australia;
- the ACCC's continued inquiry into markets for the supply of digital platform services;
- a federal parliamentary inquiry into allegations extractive industries companies falsified data on the cleanliness of their coal exports; and
- inquiries in Western Australia and the Commonwealth level in relation to the respective government's response to COVID-19.
We expect that themes of broader public interest, such as environmental concerns, energy prices, cost of living, corporate profits, data security, and government and executive accountability, are likely to be the key drivers in terms of future commissions of inquiry.
Key sectors of focus
Whilst any sector may be the focus of a commission of inquiry, given the current public focus on issues of sustainability, cost of living and data security, we consider that the sectors most at risk of exposure to scrutiny through a commission of inquiry process in the coming year are energy and resources, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, financial services, and technology.