Robert McClelland named to lead Australia's National Anti-Corruption Commission

Savundra named deputy commissioner; both begin five-year terms January 11

Former Labor attorney general and federal court judge Robert McClelland has been named as the new commissioner of Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission, Attorney General Michelle Rowland said Monday. McClelland, who served as the country’s top law officer in the Rudd government from 2007 to 2011, will succeed Paul Brereton, who resigned in May.

McClelland has served as deputy chief justice of the federal circuit and family court of Australia since 2018, and was appointed to the court by the Coalition in 2015. Rowland said McClelland had been chosen through “an open, competitive and merit-based selection process.”

“I congratulate deputy chief justice McClelland and Mr Savundra on their proposed appointments,” Rowland said. “Deputy chief Justice McClelland and Mr Savundra’s expertise will be an asset to the commission, and I have confidence in their ability to contribute to its important work to enhance integrity across the Commonwealth public sector.”

Christopher Savundra has been named as the NACC’s new deputy commissioner. McClelland and Savundra will begin five-year terms on January 11 next year.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission signed off on the appointments, as required by legislation governing the commission’s work. Rowland said both candidates received unanimous support from the committee.

The selection panel included attorney-general’s department secretary Katherine Jones, former Federal Court judge Raymond Finkelstein, and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

Brereton, the commission’s first boss, resigned in May saying criticism of him was “drawing attention away” from the body’s purpose. He had been criticised for doing consulting work for his previous employer, the inspector general of the Australian defence force, while serving as the NACC’s commissioner.

The NACC also faced heavy criticism after an initial decision in 2024 not to investigate the six people referred to it by the robodebt royal commission. The agency subsequently reversed the decision the following year.