Victoria’s anti‑corruption watchdog has taken the highly unusual step of publicly apologising to a family‑violence victim, acknowledging serious failures in how it handled her complaints about Victoria Police’s response to abuse she reported against a serving officer. The apology, delivered by the commissioner of the Independent Broad‑based Anti‑corruption Commission (IBAC) during a parliamentary hearing, marked one of the clearest admissions of wrongdoing the agency has ever made.
The commissioner said she was “sincerely sorry” for IBAC’s handling of the woman’s complaints, as well as for the watchdog’s inadequate response to a subsequent special report by the Victorian Inspectorate. That report found significant failings in both Victoria Police’s and IBAC’s treatment of the case, prompting renewed scrutiny of how the state deals with police‑perpetrated family violence.
The victim, Dr Jana Katerinskaja, has long argued that the system is stacked against those who try to hold police accountable. Her lawyer, Jeremy King, said the apology underscored the need for urgent reform of IBAC’s structure and governance so it can provide meaningful oversight of Victoria Police. “IBAC barely say ‘hello’ to people, let alone apologise, so this apology is as rare as hen’s teeth,” he said. “It’s a testament to Jana’s tenacity and intelligence that she achieved this. But she would be the only person in Victoria I’m aware of who has ever received anything like this from IBAC.”
The moment has reignited debate about the barriers victims face when the alleged perpetrator is a police officer — and the systemic weaknesses that allow such cases to be mishandled. Advocates say the apology, while significant, must be followed by structural change to ensure future victims are not forced into the same exhausting fight for accountability.
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