The ACT's Chief Minister has backed changes to procedural fairness timeframes under the Integrity Commission Act to make investigations quicker.
Andrew Barr said legislative changes to drop a minimum six-week period for commission witnesses to respond to draft reports by the watchdog could help to accelerate the speed of investigations.
Mr Barr was speaking in estimates following questions about the former chief executive of the Canberra Institute of Technology Leanne Cover receiving a $465,000 payout after she resigned.
Ms Cover resigned after the Integrity Commission found she was guilty of serious corrupt conduct in the awarding of more than $8.5 million of contracts to "complexity and systems thinker" Patrick Hollingworth.
The former chief executive was stood down on full pay for two years, receiving an annual salary of about $370,000, during the commission's investigation. The $465,000 payout were her entitlements, including accrued annual and long service leave.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee asked Mr Barr whether he felt the payout was in line with community expectations.
He said it was consistent with national employment standards in relation to entitlements under the Fair Work Act and the presumption of innocence.
"Unless we are to do away with the presumption of innocence and seek to subvert the national employment law, the matter is as it is," Mr Barr said.
"I think the community would expect the Integrity Commission process be completed in a faster timeframe."
Mr Barr said changes should be made to drop a minimum time period for affected parties to respond to a draft report from the Integrity Commission. However, the changes won't be made before the October election with the Chief Minister urging the next Legislative Assembly to consider those changes.
Under law, parties must be given a minimum of six weeks to respond to a report from the commissioner. The report must be circulated to parties named in the report, including those who are not adversely affected.
Integrity Commissioner Michael Adams KC told estimates last month he believed the timeframe was arbitrary and it ultimately held up the release of the final report into the Hollingworth contracts.
"Six weeks is plainly arbitrary and capricious. Some reports require longer to respond to; some reports require only a few days," he said.
"I think this is a case where you should be able to trust the Integrity Commission to give people a fair go and to give a reasonable time."
Parties are able to request an extension and the commission granted extra time to respond to the report. The interim report into the CIT contracts was not released until seven months after it was first handed to affected parties.
There was 12 weeks given for parties to respond to the report when it was first handed out in November last year. However, the commissioner made a further edit to the report earlier this year and gave parties another chance to respond to the amended report, which was another six weeks.
The Integrity Act was already reviewed during this Legislative Assembly term and Mr Barr has introduced changes in response to this review. This did not include changes to the minimum six-week timeline.
Mr Adams also told estimates last month the CIT board could have terminated Ms Cover's contract while the Integrity Investigation was underway. The CIT said it had received legal advice and was waiting until a report from the corruption inquiry before making a decision.
