CURRENT TOPICS

The New South Wales Crime Commission is a statutory corporation established by section 5(1) of the New South Wales Crime Commission Act 1985. The Act was assented to (as the State Drug Crime Commission Act 1985) on 1 November 1985. The life of the Commission commenced 20 January 1986 with the appointment by the then Governor of the Commission's first Members. The NSW Crime Commission is the custodian of the Criminal Assets Recovery Act (NSW) 1990 (CARA). It is not a prosecutorial body thus its independence is assured by statute.

A principal objective of the Commission is to reduce the incidence of illegal drug trafficking. A secondary objective of the Commission is to reduce the incidence of organised and other crime. The Commission has two principal functions:

1. The operation and implementation of the Criminal Assets Recovery Act (1990) NSW; and

2. The investigation of relevant criminal activity. The investigation of relevant criminal activity is conducted largely in private and strict laws are in place to ensure the integrity of any investigations undertaken. Breaches of these strict laws have serious criminal consequences.