Author Identifier

Bernadine Tucker: http://orcid.org/0009-0005-9668-1393

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Edith Cowan University

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

School

School of Arts and Humanities

First Supervisor

Pamela Henry

Second Supervisor

Nikki Rajakaruna

Abstract

Anti-corruption agencies, also known as watchdog, oversight or integrity agencies, began emerging in Australia in the early 1980s. Nowadays, every Australian state and territory has an anti-corruption agency, with a federal anti-corruption agency the last to be enacted in 2022, dedicated to reducing public sector corruption. These agencies have been given a suite of extensive and intrusive legislative powers by governments to address public sector corruption, which reflects an underlying assumption that these agencies have been effective. However, history has shown Australian anti-corruption agencies have evolved primarily due to public and political criticism, rather than any proven effectiveness measure. Indeed, some scholars have suggested anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) have failed to reduce corruption and are ineffective. Despite this, public and political support for ACAs remain, highlighting a blurring of lines between their perceived importance and their actual effectiveness. Notably absent, is an evidence-based understanding of what factors underpin ACA effectiveness. As such, this study is guided by the following research question: What factors are perceived to predict ACA effectiveness? Identifying these factors will provide practical insights for guiding future policy development and focus areas for ACA effectiveness building.

I began by reviewing the literature on organisational and ACA effectiveness to gauge an understanding of the key contextual effectiveness factors (conditions or prerequisites required for an organisation to be effective) that have previously been used, grouping similar themes together. I found six global contextual effectiveness factors through the organisational literature and five in the anti-corruption literature. From there, a critical theoretical analysis was conducted using three different theories (systems theory, corporate social responsibility theory and institutional theory) which identified a further 19 contextual effectiveness factors. As it was evident that within these factors there were duplications, I decided to overlay the results from each stage which resulted in four broad common contextual effectiveness being identified. These contextual effectiveness factors helped inform the question selection for my two survey instruments distributed to stakeholders via the snowballing method. The first survey was for internal stakeholders (people who had or still do work for an Australian anti-corruption agency), and the second survey was for external stakeholders (people who had or still do work for a public sector agency).

My survey instruments were validated after distribution resulting in multidimensional constructs being identified. A subsequent scale evaluation resulted in three measurable factors for each group. These factors were then analysed through a backwards regression analysis which revealed that internal stakeholders perceived legitimacy and innovation as accounting for approximately 38% of perceived ACA effectiveness and external stakeholders perceiving legitimacy and relationships as accounting for 43% of perceived ACA effectiveness. These findings have important implications for how ACAs are structured, evaluated and supported. These results suggest that legitimacy is a critical driver of perceived effectiveness across both internal and external stakeholder groups. The emphasis of innovation and relationships in the results highlight the need for ACAs to adapt to changing environments and engage meaningfully with their stakeholders. Together, these results point to the broader need for anti-corruption strategies to move beyond legal powers and enforcement measures and instead focus on building credible, responsive and collaborative organisations that can sustain long-term public trust.

DOI

10.25958/yhrc-gb83

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Access to this thesis is embargoed until 12th August 2030

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