Paul Brereton

Publicly reported controversies involving Paul Brereton (NACC chief) are limited to integrity/conflict-of-interest findings and related inspector inquiries; no publicly reported fraud, bribery, indictments, charges, convictions, or acquittals appear in the provided sources. In 2024, he was found to have engaged in “officer misconduct” by not properly recusing himself from NACC decisions about whether to investigate six Robodebt referrals; an independent examiner was to reconsider the decision. On Feb 5, 2026, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland issued a “please explain” letter over his undisclosed ongoing ADF/IGADF ties connected to the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry; he later said he recused himself from relevant matters. In Feb 2026, the NACC inspector Gail Furness launched a second “agency maladministration or officer misconduct” investigation into his defence ties under s184(1)(e). Brereton resigned effective July 6, 2026, on May 25/26, 2026, denying wrongdoing, and Senate estimates confirmed the draft of the inspector inquiry report had been received.