The Coalition Government has formally established the Fraud and Anti-Corruption (FAC) Centre located in the Australian Federal Police (AFP) headquarters, with the recent signing of a Commonwealth multi-agency Memorandum of Understanding—marking a new era in the approach to dealing with fraud and corruption at a federal level.
The FAC Centre brings together the Australian Taxation Office, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Australian Crime Commission, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, Department of Human Services, Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Department of Defence, and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in order to assess, prioritise and respond to serious fraud and corruption matters.
The FAC Centre has been designed to triage and evaluate serious and complex fraud and corruption referrals to deliver an effective Commonwealth multi-agency response when serious concerns are raised.
The FAC Centre will be resourced by the AFP, with partner agencies all contributing seconded members with relevant areas of expertise. It will deliver whole-of-government fraud training through a joint training team.
AFP FAC investigation teams are also based in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide. They will investigate serious and complex fraud, corruption and foreign bribery matters, including identity crimes.
Partner agencies will work to prioritise the most effective and appropriate investigative response to allegations of fraud and corruption matters. This will ensure that serious fraud and anti-corruption issues are dealt with in the most effective manner.
The FAC Centre will also engage existing intelligence resources, such as the Australian Crime Commission’s National Criminal Intelligence Fusion Capability, drawing on specialists, data and analytics to develop fraud-related intelligence.
The establishment of the FAC Centre is consistent with the Government’s zero tolerance approach to corruption in all its forms—seen most recently the establishment of Task Force Pharos which is targeting hidden corruption in the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, and the establishment of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.
We are proud of Australia’s position and reputation—consistently ranked by Transparency International as one of the least corrupt countries in the world. This announcement further enhances our ability to prevent and respond to serious fraud and corruption at the Commonwealth level.
