This audit would assess the effectiveness of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force’s (IGADF’s) performance of statutory functions under the Defence Act 1903.

The IGADF’s functions include performance reviews of the military justice system (41 conducted in 2021–22), investigation of redress of grievance complaints from Australian Defence Force personnel (226 complaints closed in 2021–22) and Military Police professional standards investigations (47 completed in 2021–22). The IGADF may also be directed to investigate a matter by the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), as was the case in March 2016, in relation to allegations of serious misconduct by Australia’s Special Forces in Afghanistan. The IGADF’s report (known as the Brereton Report) was presented to the CDF on 10 November 2020 and led to the establishment (in the Attorney-General’s portfolio) of an Office of Special Investigator on 4 January 2021.