The Queensland Government says extra funding will help the Office of the Integrity Commissioner to operate as a “truly independent” statutory body. Photo: Queensland Parliament, Facebook.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering a funding boost to the Office of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner.
The 2025-26 Budget commitment is part of the government’s election promise to strengthen the Integrity Commissioner’s independence.
An extra $7.1 million will be provided over four years, with $1.9 million ongoing to allow the office to operate as a “truly independent” statutory body.
The Queensland Government has claimed that under the former Labor government, the Office of the Integrity Commissioner was improperly funded and could not act as an independent office. The LNP said it “remained a division of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet”.
The commissioner’s core responsibilities include providing confidential advice on issues of ethics and integrity to members of the state parliament, their staff, senior public servants and statutory office-holders.
The Office of the Commissioner is also responsible for registering lobbyists and administering and upholding the lobbying regulatory scheme, in addition to providing training and education to politicians and lobbyists regardless of party.
“For the past decade, we’ve seen the Labor Party have a total disregard for integrity, with scandal after scandal,” Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister for Integrity Deb Frecklington said.
“Since coming to office, I have made integrity a priority and that includes ensuring the Integrity Commissioner is genuinely independent.”
In addition to the funding boost, the government has:
- Bolstered the Crime and Corruption Commission and “restored its ability” to release integrity reports.
- “Increased” the independence of the Public Service Commissioner.
- Tabled the Trad and Carne CCC reports that the government claims were buried while Labor was in power.
- Delivered the final recommendation in the Let the Sunshine In report, three years after it was first given to the Labor government, with a permanent Complaints Clearing House established within the 2025-26 Budget.
“Unlike our predecessors, who wanted to keep Queenslanders in the dark as they ran a protection racket for their mates, the Crisafulli Government is committed to restoring integrity and delivering a more open and transparent government,” Ms Frecklington said.
