Mick Fuller

On 17 February 2022, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) revealed that Fuller did not declare his co-ownership of two racehorses to the state government while serving as a police officer.[12] Beginning from 2015, Fuller and at least five other officers in leadership roles within NSW Police owned shares across at least four racehorses from trainer David Vandyke. Vandyke was banned from three years from 1989 after two of his horses tested positive to the analgesic opioid etorphine, and has been fined three times since 2015 after his horses tested positive to banned substances.

Fuller told the ABC he owned 2.5 per cent shares in one horse, Once Epona Time, in 2019 and 2020 while he was commissioner, and in another horse, Mad Magic, from 2015 to 2017 before he was promoted to commissioner. One of Mad Magic's 14 co-owner, businessman David Levy, owned a catering company which won a $3 million contract in 2017, after Fuller became commissioner, to supply NSW Police with meals at major events, police functions and training. In 2017, Levy was the target of an investigation into an illegal asbestos dump on a property he owned. The ABC also revealed that Levy employs a former police officer and husband to an assistant commissioner as a manager at one of his food businesses.

Fuller said to the ABC he was not required to declare his shares and that he had not breached any policies. He also denied having "personally benefited" from Levy's business dealings. Fuller was previously investigated in 2016 over a separate complaint over his involvement with horseracing, but no evidence of wrongdoing was found.

Following the ABC investigation, NSW Racing Minister Kevin Anderson announced that Fuller will not be considered for the board of Racing NSW.[13] On 18 February, NSW Police launched an internal investigation into the co-ownership of racehorses by Fuller and other senior police officers, and if they breached anti-corruption rules.[14] On 20 February, it was revealed that the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), the NSW police watchdog, was aware of Fuller's shares in racehorses for several years, having received written complaints from former and serving police officers when Fuller was commissioner.[15]

On 15 March, the LECC published its report, stating there is "clearly no substance in any of the allegations that have been made against Mr Fuller", and that the evidence does not show serious misconduct "or any misconduct at all".[16] The report also said the allegations, first made anonymously to the LECC in 2019 and repeated at the time of Fuller's retirement, "would appear to be a malevolent attempt to cause him harm when he is seeking to establish a new life".[16]

The LECC's explanation was rejected by the ABC, saying in a statement that the LECC did not approach the ABC before making its claims, and called for the LECC to detail the steps it took which led to the findings.[16][17] The ABC said its reporters have spent months gathering information from reluctant sources, that the LECC report came less than one month after the ABC's publishing, and that the LECC did not contradict the ABC's reporting that Fuller had not declared his racehorse shares.[17]

On 2 November, it was reported that the LECC reopened the investigation after concerns were raised by the new inspector of the commission.[18] On 13 December, the LECC released a report where it reversed its previous decision to clear Fuller of wrongdoing, as well as urged NSW police commissioner Karen Webb to ban officers from owning racehorses or introduce more thorough controls on police involvement in the racing industry.[19]

As of April 2020, when NSW entered a state of emergency lockdown due to the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Fuller was appointed the State Emergency Operations Controller and was put in charge of enforcing COVID-19 restriction in NSW.[7][20] These restrictions include the number of people allowed to gather in the same space (indoors and outdoors) applied to homes, offices, public transport, weddings, funerals, restaurants, cinemas and other venues.[7][20] NSW Police was authorised by the state government to implement bans on anyone breaching COVID-19 restriction rules.[7] The team at the Emergency Operation Controller (located at the NSW Rural Fire Service headquarters) consisted of experts from various fields including police, border force, defence force, education, transport and health personnel, who collaborated to provide NSW residents with the most up-to-date information and develop strategies to deal with the challenges that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][20][21]

Fuller's responsibility was to keep NSW residents and communities safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][20][21] There was an increase in the number of Police officers despatched across the state to ensure residents comply to the new rules and regulations.[20] Fuller highlighted the importance of effective emergency management strategies and support from the police and military force in guiding NSW residents through this unpredictable time.[7][20] Fuller was also in charge of overseeing the compulsory Hotel Quarantine Operations for all returning Australian citizens and permanent residents into NSW.[7][20] He was subsequently responsible for managing and coordinating with the cruise ship Ruby Princess and he oversaw an investigation into the docking and disembarking of that cruise ship which may have led to the spread of the COVID-19 cases in NSW.[7][21][22]  

In May 2020, the Remuneration Tribunal made the decision to approve a pay rise of close to $87,000 for Fuller to reflect his added roles and responsibilities, which was supported by NSW Premier Berejiklian.[23] Although this took Fuller's annual package to an estimated $649,500, the Premier defended the decision as other senior officers including the Australian Police Force Commissioner, Australian Border Force Commissioner and the Queensland Police Commissioner earned more than Fuller.[23]

In July 2020, Fuller was involved in the plan to stop a Black Lives Matter protest from taking place in the Sydney CBD with concerns for another potential outbreak of COVID-19 in NSW.[24][25] Stacey Maloney, who was the Acting Assistant Commissioner in charge in the city, was responsible for obtaining the relevant documents required to apply to the Supreme Court of New South Wales regarding this matter.[26] Although the court order did not ban the rally that was supposed to take place on 28 July 2020, charges could be made against protesters who chose to attend for disruption of traffic and any violation of a public health order, which were NSW authorities' main concerns.[25][26][27] Fuller expressed concern that protest attendees would not be able to keep a safe distance and there was a high risk of COVID-19 transmission during the protest as crowds gathered.[27][28] Fuller insisted that the event be postponed or rescheduled due to the continuous community transmission of COVID-19 in NSW. Event organisers disagreed and claimed that they had the right to protest.[25] The Supreme Court Justice Mark Ierace later granted NSW Police approval to ban the protest due to increasing concerns over potential escalation of COVID-19 transmission that could reflect the outbreak situation in the neighbouring state of Victoria.[25][27] In a media statement, NSW Police informed the public that the protest was officially unauthorised and recommended that people should reconsider their decision to participate.[25]