IBAC apologises to family violence victim for mishandling complaints about Victoria Police

Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog has taken the extraordinary step of publicly apologising to a family violence victim for how it handled her complaints about Victoria Police's response to her reports of abuse by a serving police officer.

The commissioner of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) today told a parliamentary committee she was sincerely sorry for how IBAC had dealt with the victim's complaints, as well as how it later responded to a special report by the Victorian Inspectorate which found serious failings in both Victoria Police's and IBAC's handling of her matter.

The apology — a rare instance of IBAC admitting failure in unusually candid and conciliatory language — is a sharp reminder of the struggle for accountability victims of police-perpetrated family violence too often face. 

The victim, Jana Katerinskaja, and her lawyer say it also highlights the need for urgent reform to IBAC's structure and governance to enable it to provide more meaningful oversight of Victoria Police.

"IBAC barely say 'hello' to people, let alone apologise, so this apology is as rare as hen's teeth," said Jeremy King, principal lawyer and head of the police and prisons team at Robinson Gill. 

"It's a testament to the fact that Jana has fought with such tenacity and intelligence that she has got that result. But she would be the only person in Victoria that I'm aware of that would ever have had anything like this from IBAC."

Dr Katerinskaja first reported serious incidents of family violence by her partner, a senior constable, to Victoria Police in 2018. She complained to IBAC after discovering that the police investigation was being conducted by her perpetrator's colleagues, and that officers had leaked her plan to leave the relationship — and escape the abuse — to his colleagues and friends, putting her life and the lives of her children in danger.

A special report by the Victorian Inspectorate in 2022 found IBAC badly failed Dr Katerinskaja when it referred her initial complaint — and a second one, made two years after the first — to Victoria Police, which allocated the investigation to a police officer in the same division as her perpetrator and the officers who were to be investigated. 

IBAC demanded its response to the so-called "Emma report" — a pseudonym to protect Dr Katerinskaja's identity — be tabled in its appendix.

"The issues with IBAC's handling of Emma's case are so serious and long running, and the consequences so devastating, that it is worthy of consideration and public comment," the Inspector noted at the time. 

The central issue in Dr Katerinskaja's allegations, he said, "namely the unwillingness of police to act against their own in cases of family violence, was effectively overlooked".

IBAC's response 'inappropriate and insensitive'

Commissioner Victoria Elliott today said IBAC had adopted a "highly adversarial" approach in its public response to the report without acknowledging its failures and the report's "true meaning". 

IBAC also made multiple "inaccurate, inappropriate or misleading assertions" about its interactions with Dr Katerinskaja, she said, and failed to take account of her family's welfare.

"As an organisation, we have since reflected on these matters and wish to express our deep regret," Ms Elliott told parliament's Integrity and Oversight Committee.

"We now accept that IBAC should have referred Dr Katerinskaja's complaint to Victoria Police with explicit instructions addressing conflicts of interest and actively monitored the investigation in real time. 

"Further, IBAC's public response to the Emma Report was inappropriate and insensitive, particularly given we accepted each of the Inspectorate's recommendations."

In a separate email to Dr Katerinskaja, IBAC recognised she had approached the commission with the expectation that she could safely make complaints and IBAC would assist. 

"Not only did this not occur, but our approach left you feeling attacked, trampled, gaslighted and silenced by us," it said. "We deeply regret the lack of insight and compassion we showed, and we apologise for the impact this has had on you and your family."

Dr Katerinskaja said the apology was a sign of "strong leadership and improving culture" and showed IBAC was acting with integrity by "owning their past conduct". 

But it was issued only after a difficult two-year formal process, she said, in which IBAC initially refused to investigate her concerns or review evidence, insisting there was nothing wrong with its response to the report.

"This public apology is incredibly meaningful — tone from the top is key to cultural change and trust," Dr Katerinskaja said. 

"When the Emma report was tabled it was distressing to see the state's integrity body basically attack me and deny they'd done anything wrong in my case, despite being acutely aware that they caused actual harm and put me in peril.

"To have them lie about me made the attack even worse … people trust what IBAC says, and I've been fighting for the truth to be acknowledged for more than three years."

Police oversight system needs urgent overhaul

Dr Katerinskaja said she was relieved IBAC was no longer standing by its response, but that "serious questions" remained as to how it was compiled and submitted in the first place. 

For instance, why didn't the response — which was tabled under parliamentary privilege — undergo fact-checking, tone-checking and an ethics review? It never would have been tabled, she said, if IBAC had adequate assurance and accountability frameworks in place.

Dr Katerinskaja said her case also showed IBAC needed better oversight, particularly if it was given more power and funding following major allegations of corruption within the CFMEU. 

"If you have far-reaching powers, you need far-reaching oversight of what you do," she said. "That's how integrity works."

Ms Elliott told the parliamentary committee that IBAC had made "many internal changes" since receiving Dr Katerinskaja's first complaint.

"But there is more to do," she said, "and we are committed to improving our handling of police misconduct complaints and particularly police-perpetrated family violence matters."

Dr Katerinskaja is concerned, though, that without legislative change, a case like hers could recur. The IBAC Act must be amended so that "serious police misconduct" is clearly defined, she said, and to enable the watchdog to prioritise complaints about police misconduct alongside those about corruption.

IBAC must also be empowered to establish a dedicated police misconduct and corruption division with a separate statutory regime for police oversight, she said — that would allow it to prioritise high-risk and serious complaints like hers (some of these proposals are recommendations of last year's inquiry into IBAC's legislation, which repeated recommendations of a 2018 inquiry into the external oversight of police corruption and misconduct.)

"I accept in the current financial environment the government won't create a standalone body for police misconduct but it can change the IBAC Act, and there seems to be bipartisan agreement that the current oversight system is failing," Dr Katerinskaja said. 

"How much harm has to occur for politicians to have the courage to make amendments that have been recommended for a decade?"

Mr King, who represented Dr Katerinskaja in litigation against Victoria Police, said he was hopeful IBAC's apology was the "dawn of a new day". 

"But … you can't ever really change IBAC unless you change its structure, and unless there is legislative change." Regardless, he said, he doesn't believe IBAC is best-placed to provide police oversight.

"I'm so cynical about IBAC's ability to handle police misconduct that I actually think it should be taken off them and given to an independent police ombudsman," Mr King said. 

"To me that would be the only way of truly holding police accountable and making sure that, like in Jana's case, when horrific police misconduct does take place, that it's investigated by someone who's independent."

In a statement a Victorian Government spokesperson told ABC News: "We note IBAC's apology today, we will always stand with victims of family violence and do what we can to make life safer and fairer for Victorians.

"Work is continuing on our police oversight reform but since this case, we've already made changes to the statute of limitations for inappropriately accessing the police database."