The AFP's Annual Report is required to fulfil a number of
statutory requirements. The report's compliance with these requirements is outlined
in a compliance index on pages 288–291 of the annual report. Subsection 67(1)
of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 (AFP Act) states that:
(1) The
Commissioner shall, as soon as practicable after each 30 June, prepare and
furnish to the Minister a report on the administration and the operations of
the Australian Federal Police during the year that ended on that date.
(1A) The report
must contain, in respect of the year, prescribed particulars about:
(a) the
AFP conduct issues that were dealt with under Part V during that year; and
(b) the
action that was taken, during that year, in relation to AFP conduct issues that
were dealt with under Division 3 of Part V.
(2) The Minister
shall cause a report furnished to him or her under subsection (1) to be
laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House
after the report is received by the Minister.
Appendix 2 of the Annual Report sets out statistics on the 802
complaints and approximately 1250 conduct issues arising during the reporting
year. The information satisfies the reporting requirements of section 67(1) of
the AFP Act.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman, in his February 2011 report to
Parliament, raised concerns about the deterioration in complaint handling
timeframes, the use of excessive force, and whether the complaint handling
provisions under Part V of the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 are
being sufficiently met.