The Commission assesses, investigates and exposes serious misconduct in the Western Australian public sector and misconduct in the Western Australian Police Force.

Corruption and misconduct generally occurs when a public officer abuses authority for personal gain, causes detriment to another person, or acts contrary to the public interest.

The Corruption and Crime Commission's purpose is to expose and disrupt corruption, serious misconduct and organised crime, giving the WA community confidence that public officers act in the public interest.

Misconduct is defined in section 4 of the Corruption, Crime and Misconduct Act 2003. The Act characterises misconduct as either serious misconduct or minor misconduct. Serious misconduct is dealt with by the Corruption and Crime Commission and minor misconduct is dealt with by the Public Sector Commission.

Corrupt behaviour presents in many forms in the workplace. Some examples include:

• abuse of public office
• blackmail
• bribery, including bribery in relation to an election
• deliberately releasing confidential information
• extortion
• obtaining or offering a secret commission
• fraud or stealing
• forgery
• perverting the course of justice
• an offence relating to an electoral donation
• loss of revenue of the state by tax evasion
• falsification of records.

For more information on the difference between misconduct and serious misconduct, and the reporting obligations for heads of WA government agencies, please read Notifying misconduct - a guide for Principal Officers of notifying authorities.

How to report corruption to the CCC