This document highlights the key integrity reforms our federal parliament must enact if we are to build a more democratic Australia.

The 47th Parliament presents a key opportunity to enact integrity reforms the Australian people have long been demanding and which featured prominently in the 2022 election campaign.

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index shows Australia’s global standing is in decline. Over this past decade our corruption score has plummeted to its lowest ever level. Meanwhile the Australian public’s trust in government has reached its lowest level on record.

Australia can and must do better. With key integrity reforms, this federal parliament can build a fairer, more open, and more accountable system of government, where our elected representatives stand up for the best interests of all Australians.

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE 47TH pARLIAMENT

1. A strong National Integrity Commission to prevent, detect and stop federal government corruption

• broad jurisdiction to investigate criminal and non-criminal matters, and everyone – federal politicians and all areas of government – should be fully subject to independent scrutiny.
• New, best practice Royal Commission powers to conduct investigations, ensure public hearings are fair, and make reports leading to action on confirmed corruption.
• Accessibility to everyone, so anyone can sound the alarm on corruption, backed by better federal whistleblower protections across the board.

More effective laws to stop corrupt officials and business people laundering money and hiding their abuses of power

• Stronger anti-money laundering laws to stop dirty money flowing into Australia, including through our property market and financial institutions, and to require the professional enablers of potentially suspect transactions to comply with those laws
• Greater transparency over who actually benefits from a company’s dealings (beneficial ownership transparency) so we can detect any conflicts of interest, potential corruption and effectively impose sanctions
• Action to pass amendments to our foreign bribery law to stop Australians getting involved in bribing foreign officials

Open and trustworthy decision-making

• Better oversight and registration for all professional lobbyists, so we can see who is trying to influence public decisions, and why
• A robust and enforceable code of conduct for all parliamentarians so they act with the highest integrity and follow the rules
• Caps and real-time disclosure of political donations, funding and expenditure, so we can ensure our democracy serves the people, not those who pay to play