Australia's Parliament House Raided By Anti-Corruption Agency In Connection To DPS Probe

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) confirmed conducting a raid at Australia's Parliament House on Thursday as part of an ongoing operation.

The raid was related to the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS), which remained closed when the search operation was on, according to a report by Guardian Australia.

"The commission can confirm it carried out operational activity today at Parliament House," the NACC spokesperson said in a statement. "This was in relation to an ongoing investigation."

The NACC stated the raid did not involve any current or former member of parliament, but refused to answer who was the subject of its inquiries.

"The commission can confirm that the investigation does not relate to a current or former parliamentarian," the statement said. "As the matter is ongoing, we will not be making further comment, as to do so may compromise operational activities or unfairly impact reputations."

Meanwhile, the DPS and spokesperson for Speaker Milton Dick stated all queries about the search should be directed to the NACC.

"All enquiries relating to the work of the NACC should be referred to the NACC," the spokesperson said.

This was the first time that NACC had conducted a search operation in the Parliament building, ABC reported.

NACC has been probing corruption in the public sector, including the conduct of public servants, commonwealth contractors, parliamentarians and their staff, and the police, since July 1, 2023.

According to the latest update on the NACC website, the agency was conducting 32 preliminary investigations and 29 corruption cases, apart from having six matters pending in court and 471 referrals awaiting assessment.

While six investigations were related to the conduct of current or former parliamentarians, three pertained to current or former parliamentary staff. Additionally, seven investigations were focused on current or former senior executive officials.