Overview

• The National Anti-Corruption Commission raided the Department of Parliamentary Services in October 2024 and has since ordered seven senior and middle-ranking staff to take indefinite leave.
• DPS is considering publishing a summary of Fiona Roughley SC’s independent fact-finding report, whose seven recommendations have overhauled conflict-of-interest procedures and record-keeping.
• Investigators have reopened examination of the $315,000 incentive-to-retire payment awarded in late 2023 to former deputy secretary Cate Saunders, questioning its calculation and approval.
• Rob Stefanic was dismissed in December after failing to formally declare a close personal relationship with Saunders, which sparked the initial conflict-of-interest review.
• Senators Jane Hume and David Pocock have criticised DPS’s lack of transparency and its reliance on acting senior officers, calling for greater accountability.