The Federal Court held that an investigation report published by the ACT Integrity Commission on its own website pursuant to s 190 of the Integrity Commission Act 2018 (ACT) is not protected by parliamentary privilege under s 16 of the Parliamentary Privileges Act 1987 (Cth), even though the same report was presented to the Speaker and tabled in the Legislative Assembly. The Court reasoned that the Commission is an independent statutory body fulfilling its own statutory functions, and publication on its website lacks the requisite functional connection to the transacting of the business of the Legislative Assembly required by s 16(2)(c) or (d). On the substantive judicial review, the Court dismissed the application, holding that documents created by a board of inquiry (including draft reports, notices of adverse findings, and the final inquiry report) fall within the non-disclosure obligation in s 17 of the Inquiries Act 1991 (ACT), and that the conceded error regarding the contempt finding under s 36 was not material given the Commission's alternative findings on other bases within s 9(1)(a).
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