Anne Ruston says the government's proposed federal integrity commission would have powers 'well in excess' of a royal commission. Is she correct?

The claim Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not yet ruled out delivering on one of the government's 2018 commitments: a federal anti-corruption body. Similarly, Liberal backbencher Jason Falinski wrote on Facebook the CIC would have "stronger powers than a royal commission" and fellow backbencher Dave Sharma claimed the CIC draft legislation had "powers akin to a royal commission". Law enforcement division Public sector division Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Australian Federal Police Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre Department of Home Affairs Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Australian Securities and Investments Commission Australian Taxation Office Public service departments and agencies Parliamentary departments, statutory agencies Commonwealth companies and Commonwealth corporations Higher education providers and research bodies that receive Commonwealth funding Commonwealth service providers and any subcontractors they engage Parliamentarians and their staff Source: Attorney-General's Department Differences between the two divisions The department's fact sheet says in relation to each division that the commission can investigate "conduct that involves an abuse of office or perversion of the course of justice". In saying the CIC would have "greater investigatory powers" than a royal commission, both Mr Porter's initial statement and the Attorney-General's website point to six similar examples: hold hearings and compel witnesses to testify enter and search premises require people to surrender documents and other evidence use telecommunication interceptions have individuals arrested confiscate passports Although this is not an exhaustive list of the available powers to the proposed integrity commission, professor of public policy and law at Griffith University and board member of Transparency International Australia AJ Brown told Fact Check it served as a useful comparison between the two bodies. "A royal commission has the power to conduct public hearings, which is a power that the CIC does not have for the public sector division," she said.