THE HON MARK DREYFUS KC MP
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
CABINET SECRETARY
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
SPEECH
LAUNCH OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL'S CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX 2025
CANBERRA
Good morning, and thank you for the warm introduction.
I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, the Ngunnawal people. I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people joining us today.
I want to start by recognising Transparency International Australia, and in particular, its Chair, Professor AJ Brown, and Chief Executive Officer, Clancy Moore, for their tireless efforts in the fight against corruption.
I acknowledge the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, Katherine Jones PSM.
For over 30 years, Transparency International has led a global movement to expose and dismantle corruption in all its forms.
From exposing corporate misconduct to securing stronger whistle-blower protections, from tackling money laundering to driving public sector accountability - Transparency International’s impact has been profound.
Today we’re here to launch Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index. The Index is a barometer of global integrity, and a powerful reminder of what is at stake when corruption is allowed to take root.
The Index measures how nations are perceived to be tackling corruption. And it is more than just numbers. It is a benchmark of accountability, and a call to action.
THE CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX
The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks 180 countries based on perceived levels of public sector corruption, drawing on expert analysis and business surveys from institutions such as the World Bank, Freedom House, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Since 1982, this Index has shaped policy, informed anti-corruption strategies, and held governments accountable.
It has demonstrated a link between low corruption and long-term economic prosperity.
THE COST OF CORRUPTION
Corruption is not abstract. It is not harmless. It is a shadow economy that erodes democracy, weakens institutions, and steals from the most vulnerable in our society.
It diverts public money into the hands of the few at the expense of the many.
It distorts markets, punishes honest businesses, and deters foreign investment.
Left unchecked, corruption becomes a disease, hollowing out institutions from within.
It allows criminals to exploit government systems, enables fraud and money laundering, and threatens national security by giving illicit actors a foothold in the economy.
The Albanese Labor Government’s commitment to fight against corruption in Australia is unwavering.
Following the 2022 election, we immediately embarked on necessary reform to restore public trust, strengthen accountability, and ensure integrity remains at the core of our public institutions and democracy.
AUSTRALIA’S 2024 CPI RESULTS
Last year, Australia ranked 14th on the CPI with a score of 75/100.
This year, we’re back in the top 10 with a score of 77/100.
I welcome the improvement in Australia’s ranking. It signals that our focus on integrity and anti-corruption is working.
In 2023, for the first time in a decade, Australia’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index rose five places to 13th.
Now we are in the top ten, the first time it’s happened since 2016.
Australia’s record of being one of the world’s most open, transparent and least corrupt nations was trashed by nine years of the former governments rorts, secrecy and failure to deliver a promised integrity commission.
Under the former government, Australia’s rank in the global Corruption Perceptions Index fell 11 places to 18th – the worst result of any OECD country and the worst result in our history.
The report shows the Albanese Government is delivering on its commitment to restore trust and integrity to federal politics.
And we’ve been hard at work to get here.
ALBANESE GOVERNMENT INTEGRITY REFORMS
Within months of coming to government, we legislated to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
I acknowledge Transparency International’s calls for a federal anti-corruption commission over 17 years.
Australians waited years for the former government to implement its promise to deliver a Commonwealth integrity commission. They never even delivered a bill.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission we created is powerful and independent.
It has the power to investigate corruption across the entire federal public sector. And importantly, it can receive referrals from anyone, including anonymous referrals.
The legislation we introduced provides strong protections for whistleblowers and exemptions for journalists to protect the identity of sources.
This is vital to our democracy and I am proud the Albanese Government delivered it.
We also established the Administrative Review Tribunal to replace the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The AAT’s public standing was irreversibly damaged by the actions of the former government over the previous nine years.
This all came at a very real cost to the people who relied on the AAT to independently review government decisions that have major and sometimes life-altering impacts on their lives. This is decisions such as whether an older Australian receives an age pension, whether a veteran is compensated for a service injury, whether someone receives a protection visa, or whether a participant in the NDIS receives funding for essential support.
The former government stacked the AAT with 85 Liberal insiders—MPs, failed candidates, and staffers—many with no relevant qualifications.
This undermined the Tribunal’s independence, caused delays, and eroded public trust.
The Albanese Government replaced it with the Administrative Review Tribunal, representing the most significant reform to Australia’s system of administrative review in decades.
The ART is built on integrity, with transparent, merit-based appointments ensuring decisions are made by experts, not political appointees.
The ART is fairer, faster, and independent.
We have also delivered demand-driven funding, an improved case management system, and a modern structure that puts people not politics, first.
In July 2024, we launched the new Fraud and Corruption Control Framework which imposes stronger anti-corruption obligations on all Commonwealth agencies.
In February last year we passed landmark legislation to combat foreign bribery.
Foreign bribery is corruption and it is an insidious problem across the world. It harms communities, weakens global markets and undermines the rule of law.
Under the Combatting Foreign Bribery Act, companies are held directly liable for the foreign bribery activities of their employees, external contractors, agents and subsidiaries, unless the business can demonstrate that they had adequate procedures in place.
I acknowledge industry partners, including Transparency International Australia, that made submissions as part of the public consultation process on the Guidance on Adequate Procedures. This Guidance, published last year, assists corporations to address foreign bribery risk in a proportionate and effective way.
I am proud that our Government has enhanced Australia's response to foreign bribery and removed barriers to foreign bribery investigations and prosecutions.
And we haven’t stopped. In November last year, we passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act.
The passage of this legislation delivered vital and long overdue reform to close major loopholes exploited by criminals to launder illicit funds by regulating real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, and dealers of precious metals and stones.
By bringing these high-risk sectors into the AML/CTF framework, we are cutting off the financial lifelines of organised crime and corruption.
Despite almost a decade of letting criminals expand their reach into Australia’s financial system the Opposition voted against these reforms.
Our law cracks down on organised crime and terrorists, stopping them from using our financial system to launder illicit funds.
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS AND COLLABORATIVE ACTION
We also established the Royal Commission into Robodebt.
We have strengthened provisions in the Public Service Act to make it clear that Ministers cannot direct Agency Heads on employment matters.
We established an APS Integrity taskforce to identify gaps and opportunities to deliver system wide integrity improvements in the APS.
We have reinvigorated Australia’s participation in the Open Government Partnership and have developed a Third National Action Plan promoting transparency and accountability in Government.
No single government, business, or civil society organisation can tackle corruption alone. It requires collective action to tackle an issue that knows no borders.
As a country, we are working closely with The Bribery Prevention Network – which is a public-private initiative educating businesses on anti-bribery compliance.
We’re working with Pacific Island nations, through Teieniwa Vision, to support anti-corruption capacity-building across the region.
And we’re working to support partner countries in Southeast Asia by working with ASEAN and the Bali Process on People Smuggling to strengthen criminal justice, and combat transnational corruption and human trafficking.
We are also renewing our five-year partnership with Transparency International Asia-Pacific, supporting regional anti-corruption initiatives from Indonesia to Papua New Guinea.
NEXT STEPS
While we have made significant strides and achieved a lot in a short period of time, we know there is more work to do.
We are considering the next stage of reforms to the Public Interest Disclosure Act to ensure that whistleblowers are protected, supported, and empowered to expose corruption.
We are progressing reforms to Commonwealth secrecy laws.
To unmask hidden ownership structures, Australia is rolling out a national register of beneficial ownership, making it harder for criminals to launder money through anonymous companies and trusts.
CONCLUSION
Corruption thrives in the shadows.
It festers where integrity is weak, where accountability is absent, and where silence prevails.
We must work to prevent it, root it out, and dismantle the systems that allow it to take hold.
Australia’s position in the top 10 on the Corruption Perceptions Index is a testament to the power of collective action – and the commitment of the Albanese Government to tackle corruption.
Wednesday, 12 February 2025
