Three years on from the release of the final report of the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants, I am pleased to provide my third progress report to Parliament.
Under the Police Informants Royal Commission Implementation Monitor Act 2021 (Implementation Monitor Act), I am required to provide my report to Parliament by 30 November each year.
Since the Commission delivered its final report on 30 November 2020, the Victorian Government has been working hard to achieve its commitment to deliver each of the recommendations directed to it, and to support the delivery of all the Commission’s 111 recommendations.
As of September 2023, government has delivered in full 49 of the 55 recommendations directed to it, including all of its recommendations with three-, six-, and 12-month timeframes, and all but four recommendations with a set timeframe.
Overall, 90 of the 111 recommendations have been delivered by responsible agencies, and there is continuing progress to deliver the remaining recommendations.
This is my third progress report, which covers the period from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. Recommendations with an indicative two-year implementation timeframe fall within this reporting period. For recommendations with longer delivery timeframes, I have reported on implementation progress up to September 2023.
Significant achievements of the past year include government delivering an additional 26 recommendations with a two-year timeframe. These recommendations relate to the development of human source management legislation and the systemic review of police oversight.
Work is ongoing to deliver the final remaining recommendations, including to address the Commission’s concerns regarding the process for resolving public interest immunity claims and the ability to progress future inquiries in an effective, timely and transparent manner.
As I outlined in my previous report, government’s approach to implementing the Commission’s recommendations has been informed by engagement with the community on issues of public importance. This has included significant community consultation in relation to the systemic review of police oversight and legislative recommendations.
During this past year, the cross-agency Implementation Taskforce has continued to play a central role in coordinating the delivery of recommendations, and has increasingly turned its attention to ensuring that reforms delivered in response to the Commission’s recommendations are effectively operationalised and have an enduring impact.
Significant delivery of recommendations has been achieved in the reporting period and an impressive program of work is well underway to finalise delivery of the Commission’s remaining recommendations. I thank all those involved in this important work.
Jaclyn Symes MP
Attorney-General
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