Kylie Kilgour: Acting Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commission

Thanks, Michael.

Well, it's lovely to have you here to talk about the National Anti-Corruption Commission, formed three years ago.

Kylie, I think you've been a Deputy Commissioner for, what, two to three years now?

Yeah, I, I got appointed in February 2024 after, um, Jarla Hinchcliffe, who had been the old Integrity Commissioner of the old Australian Law Enforcement Commission that we took over from, I guess, when the NAC was created.

So she'd stayed as an, as an interim deputy as part of the transition, and then she, um, went off to do her next amazing job as the Secretary of Department of, um, the Parliament, actually, she's gone to.

And they needed someone else to come, and I was lucky enough to be selected.

Well, it's, it's, it's still been amazing times since the beginning.

The, the, the commission found its itself, uh, to a lot of external public scrutiny over the robodebt matter, to which we'll come back, because you then had an integral part to play in the finalization of that matter.

But also there have been, uh, because you're the acting commissioner, various, uh, commissioner changes in recent times.

So I think under the act there's a commissioner and three deputies.

Uh, but recently Paul Brereton, who was the commissioner, has resigned, and, uh, you're the acting commissioner.

A- and I think there's, uh, uh, well, two other acting deputy commissioners as well as Ben Gauntlett, who's been a deputy commissioner, I think, throughout.

Is that roughly correct?

Yeah, that's right.

So Commissioner Brereton stepped down on the 6th of July, so just last week.

Um, and also Nicole Rose, who had been one of the inaugural deputy commissioners, um, she also has stepped down, um, for family reasons.

Her husband has gotten an amazing job overseas and it was his turn to, um, get the great job and she's gone to support him, like all good partners do.

Uh, and then, so yes, we've got, um, Penny Shakespeare, who's usually a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Health and, I think it's called Disability and Ageing at the moment in the Commonwealth.

Um, she's been there for about 20 years, legally qualified.

She's come over to help me as an acting deputy.

And we've also got Jamie Lowe, uh, who some people might know her as sh- at the moment she's the Merit Protection Commissioner for the Australian Public Service.

Um, she's also had a long career in Attorney General's department, um, and the APSC, the Australian Public Service Commission, um, and the NDIA once upon a time as well.

So she, again, very experienced public servant.

Um, also has a law degree, but not legally qualified in terms of she hasn't been admitted as a legal practitioner.

Um, and then Ben is a barrister by trade originally.