Deputy chief justice and former Labor attorney-general Robert McClelland has been appointed to head the National Anti-Corruption Commission after a turbulent first four years for the federal integrity body.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland on Monday said McClelland had been selected through an open, competitive and merit-based process, and received unanimous support from the parliamentary joint committee on the NACC.
He will start next year with the task of restoring public confidence in the anti-corruption commission, a key election promise of the Albanese government in 2022 that has since been overshadowed by controversy.
The search for a new head of the commission was triggered by the resignation of inaugural commissioner Paul Brereton, whose three-year tenure was dogged by questions over his conflicts of interest.
The former supreme court judge cut short his five-year term in May, saying that sustained focus on his handling of high-profile referrals had become a distraction. His departure in July came before a statutory review of the NACC, due in 2027.
In addition to scrutiny over Brereton’s defence ties – which were twice the subject of investigations by the NACC’s own inspector-general – the commission also drew heavy criticism for its handling of referrals connected to the illegal robo-debt scheme, which it initially decided not to investigate despite receiving more than 1000 complaints. The commission has also been criticised for its lack of public hearings.
In May, Rowland said Brereton’s departure gave the government opportunity to “reset” the commission with new appointments.
The selection panel included attorney-general’s department secretary Katherine Jones, retired federal court judge Raymond Finkelstein and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.
McClelland has most recently served as deputy chief justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court, a role to which he was appointed by former Coalition attorney-general Christian Porter in 2018. He was first appointed as a judge of the Family Court by then attorney-general George Brandis in 2015.
Before that, he was the Labor MP for the Sydney seat of Barton between 1996 and 2013, and the attorney-general in the Rudd and Gillard governments between 2007 and 2011. His father was a minister in the Whitlam government and his grandfather was a state Labor MP.
As the nation’s top legal officer, McClelland pushed to streamline regulation of Australia’s lawyers, strengthened discrimination laws and made changes to family law to better support families and children.
ASIC executive Christopher Savundra was appointed the NACC’s new deputy commissioner. Both will serve five-year terms, starting from January.
Rowland congratulated the pair on their appointments. “I have confidence in their ability to contribute to [the watchdog’s] important work to enhance integrity across the Commonwealth public sector,” she said in a statement.
Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash said Labor needed to ensure the new appointments restored confidence in a strong anti-corruption body.
“The first commissioner to the NACC didn’t even last a full term, with there being serious concerns about his conduct and the way the commission is run,” she said.
Independent MP Helen Haines, who campaigned for an integrity body before the NACC was established and is deputy chair of the parliamentary committee, said it was a robust selection process.
She said McClelland brought a wealth of experience from the courts, as well his time as a senior lawmaker, while Savundra would bring legal and regulatory experience, including as ASIC’s general counsel.
“The National Anti-Corruption Commission needed a reset. The proposed appointments are an opportunity to rebuild public confidence and ensure the commission can do its job with independence, credibility and integrity,” Haines said.
“The task now is to ensure the NACC has the leadership, culture, and public trust it needs to investigate corruption effectively and uphold the highest standards of integrity.”
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