Appointment of commissioners, assistant commissioners and senior officers
Commissioners
Appointment
Commissioners (including the Chairperson) are appointed by the Governor-in-Council under the terms of the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 for a period of not more than five years. Their nomination for appointment must have the bipartisan support of the PCMC.
They are paid the remuneration and allowances decided by the Governor-in-Council.
Qualifications of the Chairperson
Under the terms of the Crime and Misconduct Act, the Chairperson, who is also the CEO, must be a legal practitioner who has served as, or is qualified for appointment as, a judge of the Supreme Court of any state, the High Court or the Federal Court.
Qualifications of the part-time commissioners
Our Act requires that one of the part-time commissioners be a practising lawyer with a demonstrated interest in civil liberties. Others must have qualifications or expertise in public sector management and review, criminology, sociology, crime research or crime prevention.
At least one Commissioner must be a female.
Resignation and termination of a commissioner
The Governor-in-Council may terminate the appointment of:
- a commissioner (including the Chairperson) at any time if he or she becomes incapable of satisfactorily performing the duties of office or is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Commission without prior approval and reasonable excuse.
- the Chairperson if he or she engages in paid employment outside the duties of office without the Minister’s approval.
- a Commissioner on a recommendation to the Legislative Assembly made with the bipartisan support of the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee and approved by the Legislative Assembly.
A CMC commissioner (including the Chairperson) may resign at any time by written notice to the Minister.
Ethical standards
The CMC must keep a register of each commissioner’s pecuniary interests and personal or political associations.
Assistant commissioners and senior officers
The criteria for appointing assistant commissioners are the same as for the Chairperson.
Under the Crime and Misconduct Act, assistant commissioners and senior officers must not hold office in the CMC for more than 10 years (this may be extended to 15 years under certain circumstances).
A ‘senior officer’ is an officer whose principal duties relate directly to the performance of the CMC’s prevention, crime, misconduct, research or intelligence functions or the giving of legal advice to the Commission. It does not include a senior officer whose duties support the CMC’s functions, such as the executive general manager or a human resource, information technology or finance manager.
