8   Meaning of corrupt conduct

             (1)  Each of the following is corrupt conduct :

                     (a)  any conduct of any person (whether or not a public official) that adversely affects, or that could adversely affect, either directly or indirectly:

                              (i)  the honest or impartial exercise of any public official’s powers as a public official; or

                             (ii)  the honest or impartial performance of any public official’s functions or duties as a public official;

                     (b)  any conduct of a public official that constitutes or involves a breach of public trust;

                     (c)  any conduct of a public official that constitutes, involves or is engaged in for the purpose of abuse of the person’s office as a public official;

                     (d)  any conduct of a public official, or former public official, that constitutes or involves the misuse of information or documents acquired in the person’s capacity as a public official;

                     (e)  any conduct of a public official in that capacity that constitutes, involves or is engaged in for the purpose of corruption of any other kind.

             (2)  However, paragraph (1)(a) does not apply in relation to conduct of the following:

                     (a)  the Governor-General;

                     (b)  a Deputy Governor-General;

                     (c)  a Justice of the High Court or a judge of a court created by the Parliament;

                     (d)  a judge of a court of a State or Territory;

                     (e)  a member of a Royal Commission;

                      (f)  the Inspector, or a person assisting the Inspector.

             (3)  To avoid doubt, paragraph (1)(a) covers a public official’s own conduct, if it has, or could have, the specified adverse effects in relation to the public official’s powers, functions or duties.

Conduct before commencement

             (4)  Conduct may be corrupt conduct even though it occurred before the commencement of this section.

             (5)  Conduct involving a public official may be corrupt conduct even though the person was no longer a public official when this section commenced.

Judicial powers, functions and duties

             (6)  Corrupt conduct does not include conduct engaged in by a staff member of the High Court or of a court created by the Parliament to exercise a power, or perform a function or duty, of a judicial nature.

             (7)  Conduct is not corrupt conduct under paragraph (1)(a) to the extent that it affects the exercise of a power, or the performance of a function or duty, of a judicial nature by a public official who is a staff member of the High Court or of a court created by the Parliament.

Note:          A Justice of the High Court or a judge of a court created by the Parliament is not a staff member of a Commonwealth agency: see paragraph 12(5)(d).

Conduct need not be for personal benefit

             (8)  Conduct involving a public official may be corrupt conduct even if the conduct is not for the person’s personal benefit.

Conduct alone or with others

             (9)  A person may engage in corrupt conduct alone, or with the agreement or participation of other persons (whether or not those other persons are public officials).

Conduct amounting to conspiracy or attempt

           (10)  Conduct comprising conspiracy or an attempt to commit or engage in conduct covered by subsection (1) is itself corrupt conduct .

Conducting parliamentary business using public resources

           (11)  To avoid doubt, the use by a parliamentarian, or a staff member of a Commonwealth agency, of public resources to conduct parliamentary business in accordance with the following does not constitute corrupt conduct :

                     (a)  the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 ;

                     (b)  the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 .

           (12)  Terms used in subsection (11) that are defined in the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 have the same meaning in that subsection as they do in that Act.

Political activities

           (13)  To avoid doubt, conduct engaged in as part of a political activity does not constitute corrupt conduct if the conduct does not involve or affect either of the following:

                     (a)  the exercise of a power, or the performance of a function or duty, by a public official;

                     (b)  the use of public resources (within the meaning of the PGPA Act).

9   Meaning of corruption issue

             (1)  A corruption issue is an issue of whether a person:

                     (a)  has engaged in corrupt conduct; or

                     (b)  is engaging in corrupt conduct; or

                     (c)  will engage in corrupt conduct.

             (2)  A NACC corruption issue is not a corruption issue .

Note:          See section 201 for the definition of a NACC corruption issue .

10   Meaning of public official

             (1)  Each of the following is a public official :

                     (a)  a parliamentarian;

                     (b)  a staff member of a Commonwealth agency;

                     (c)  a staff member of the NACC.

             (2)  A person who is acting for and on behalf of, or as a deputy or delegate of, any person or body set out in subsection (1) is also a public official .

11   Commonwealth agencies and the heads of those agencies

             (1)  A body or office specified in column 1 of an item in the following table is a Commonwealth agency , and the head (or agency head ) of that agency is the person specified in column 2 of that item.

             (2)  To avoid doubt, each of the following is taken to be a Commonwealth agency in its own right, and not part of a Department:

                     (a)  the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation;

                     (b)  the Defence Intelligence Organisation;

                     (c)  the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force;

                     (d)  the Inspector-General of Biosecurity;

                     (e)  the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports;

                      (f)  the Inspector-General of Water Compliance.

             (3)  Despite subsection (1), the NACC is not a Commonwealth agency .

12   Meaning of s taff member —Commonwealth agencies

             (1)  The following are staff members of a Commonwealth agency:

                     (a)  in the case of a parliamentary office:

                              (i)  an individual who is employed by the parliamentarian under Part III or IV of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 ; and

                             (ii)  an individual who is engaged by the parliamentarian as a consultant under Part II of that Act;

                     (b)  in the case of an agency other than a parliamentary office—the head of the agency;

                     (c)  if the agency is a Commonwealth entity—an official (within the meaning of the PGPA Act) of the entity;

                     (d)  in any case—an individual who is employed by, or engaged in assisting:

                              (i)  the agency; or

                             (ii)  a staff member of the agency on behalf of the agency or the Commonwealth;

                     (e)  a director or officer of the following:

                              (i)  a Commonwealth company;

                             (ii)  a subsidiary of a corporate Commonwealth entity or a Commonwealth company;

                      (f)  if the agency is responsible for administering a Commonwealth contract—an individual who is either of the following:

                              (i)  a contracted service provider for the contract;

                             (ii)  both an officer or employee of a contracted service provider for the contract and someone who provides goods or services for the purposes (whether direct or indirect) of the contract;

                     (g)  in any case—a secondee to the agency.

             (2)  However, if a Commonwealth agency is covered by an item of the following table then the staff members of the agency are the persons mentioned in paragraphs (1)(b), (f) and (g) and the persons mentioned in column 2 of that item.

             (3)  An individual who:

                     (a)  is covered by column 1 of an item of the following table; and

                     (b)  is not a staff member of a Commonwealth agency under subsection (1) or (2);

is a staff member of the agency identified under column 2 of that item.

Providing for individuals to be staff members of a different agency

             (4)  The regulations may provide that an individual who would otherwise be a staff member of a particular Commonwealth agency under subsection (1), (2) or (3) is a staff member of a different Commonwealth agency.

Certain individuals are not staff members

             (5)  Despite anything else in this section, none of the following is a staff member of a Commonwealth agency:

                     (a)  the Governor-General;

                     (b)  a Deputy Governor-General;

                     (c)  a parliamentarian;

                     (d)  a Justice of the High Court or a judge of a court created by the Parliament;

                     (e)  a judge of a court of a State or Territory;

                      (f)  a member of a Royal Commission;

                     (g)  a staff member of the NACC;

                     (h)  the Inspector, or a person assisting the Inspector.

13   Meaning of contracted service provider for a Commonwealth contract

             (1)  A contracted service provider for a Commonwealth contract is:

                     (a)  a person (other than the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency) who:

                              (i)  is a party to the Commonwealth contract; and

                             (ii)  is responsible for the provision of goods or services (or both) under the Commonwealth contract; or

                     (b)  a person who:

                              (i)  is a party to a contract (the subcontract ) with a person who is a contracted service provider for the Commonwealth contract under paragraph (a) (or under a previous application of this paragraph); and

                             (ii)  is responsible under the subcontract for the provision of goods or services (or both) for the purposes (whether direct or indirect) of the Commonwealth contract.

             (2)  A Commonwealth contract is a contract:

                     (a)  to which the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency is a party; and

                     (b)  under which goods or services (or both) are to be, or were to be, provided:

                              (i)  to the Commonwealth or the Commonwealth agency, as relevant; or

                             (ii)  in connection with the activities of the Commonwealth or the Commonwealth agency, as relevant.

Note:          Contract is defined in section 7 to include any arrangement, agreement, deed or understanding.

             (3)  Despite subsection (1), the following are not contracted service providers for a Commonwealth contract:

                     (a)  a State or Territory government entity;

                     (b)  the government of a foreign country, or of a part of a foreign country;

                     (c)  a person in a class prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

14   Meaning of statutory office holder

             (1)  A statutory office holder is an individual (other than an official of a registered industrial organisation) who holds an office or appointment under a law of the Commonwealth, other than under:

                     (a)  a general law allowing incorporation as a company or body corporate; or

                     (b)  the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 ; or

                     (c)  the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 ; or

                     (d)  a provision of a law prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

             (2)  Despite paragraph (1)(a), the following offices and appointments are statutory office holders :

                     (a)  the office of Registrar, or Deputy Registrar, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 ;

                     (b)  the office of a member of a committee convened under Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Corporations Act 2001 ;

                     (c)  any other office or appointment prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

15   Meaning of Commonwealth integrity agency

                   Each of the following office holders, together with their staff (if any), is a Commonwealth integrity agency :

                     (a)  the Commonwealth Ombudsman, a Deputy Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Defence Force Ombudsman, the Postal Industry Ombudsman, the Overseas Students Ombudsman, the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman and the VET Student Loans Ombudsman;

                     (b)  the Australian Public Service Commissioner;

                     (c)  the Merit Protection Commissioner;

                     (d)  the Auditor-General;

                     (e)  the AFP Commissioner;

                      (f)  the Parliamentary Service Commissioner;

                     (g)  the Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner;

                     (h)  the Australian Information Commissioner;

                      (i)  the CEO of the ACC (within the meaning of the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 );

                      (j)  the IGIS;

                     (k)  the Inspector-General of Taxation;

                      (l)  the Chief Executive Officer of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency;

                    (m)  the Inspector-General of Biosecurity;

                     (n)  the Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports;

                     (o)  the Inspector-General of Water Compliance;

                     (p)  the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force;

                     (q)  any other statutory office holder that:

                              (i)  has functions that include investigating, or inquiring into, action taken by public officials; and

                             (ii)  is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subparagraph.