ICAC’s annual report tabled in parliament on Tuesday shows the office commenced 50 corruption investigations in 2021-22, compared to 30 in the previous financial year.

Of the 50 investigations, 37 were related to “abuse of public office for personal benefit/benefit of another”, eight investigated “abuse of public office re contract/tender/procurement”, and three investigated “improper use of information/systems”.

The remaining two concerned “theft/misappropriation of public property/money”.

According to ICAC, 49 corruption investigations and two police misconduct investigations were closed last financial year.

But the annual report said that legislative changes to the ICAC Act – which sailed through parliament in September last year with the support of all MPs – meant the findings of these corruption investigations could no longer be referred directly to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for potential charges to be laid.

“Instead, where an investigation uncovers evidence of corruption in public administration, the Commission must, where appropriate, refer the matter to the SA Police for further investigation and potential prosecution,” ICAC’s report states.

“The Commission did not refer any matter directly to the DPP during the reporting period, despite that course of action being endorsed by the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia in respect of matters investigated prior to the legislative changes.”

ICAC said it referred three corruption matters to SA Police last financial year, of which two were passed on to the DPP which commenced a prosecution.

The remaining matter remains under review by SA Police, the annual report states.

Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Ann Vanstone has previously been critical of this referral mechanism, saying the ICAC is “cut out of the process” once the evidence is handed o to SA Police.

“If a prosecution is commenced there is no communication about the matter between the prosecutor and me or my investigators,” she wrote for InDaily in September.

“If the prosecutors want further information or inquiries made, they must request this of the Police, who have their own important work to do, but must now familiarise themselves with an investigation they have played no part in and which they do not own.”

The results of eight other ICAC corruption investigations were referred directly to the involved public authority to consider internal disciplinary action, according to the annual report.

But ICAC said its overall interaction with public sector authorities decreased significantly last financial year because parliament’s changes to the ICAC Act removed matters of misconduct and maladministration from its investigative purview.

The number of reports ICAC received and then referred to a public authority decreased from 153 in 2020-21 to 39 in 2021-22. The number of complaints referred also decreased from 32 to 7.

In a foreword to the annual report, Vanstone said the legislative changes passed by parliament last year “markedly altered the public integrity landscape in this state”.

“The speed with which the legislation took effect meant there was little time to plan for these substantial changes, and so there was significant disruption to much of our work and our plans,” she wrote in September.

“Despite all this, I believe the staff of what is now the Commission has continued to deliver value to public officers in this state and thereby to the South Australian community, as we continue to enhance integrity in public administration.”

Vanstone, a fierce critic of the changes to the ICAC Act since they were first floated last year, said she has asked Attorney General Kyam Maher to review the legislation.

“In my view there are many areas in the legislation where improvements should be made,” Vanstone wrote.

“With this in mind I have suggested to the Attorney−General that it is timely for an independent review of the legislation to be undertaken.

“I think that the public in South Australia deserve the best possible system which resources allow.”

InDaily asked the Attorney-General whether he supported the ICAC’s call for an independent review of the legislation. In response, Maher said in a statement: “I have received separate submissions from the ICAC, the Ombudsman, and the Office for Public Integrity relating to their legislative framework. Each of these submissions will be given due consideration.”