A senior police officer has admitted Peter Dutton was not briefed about an investigation into an Australian businessman who was later convicted of foreign bribery.
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But as home affairs minister, Mr Dutton did receive a general briefing about police concerns about "overt activity" on Nauru.
Offshore detention contracts overseen by the Department of Home Affairs under the former coalition government are under review following claims about their mismanagement.
In July 2018, businessman Mozammil Bhojani was being investigated for foreign bribery and payments made to secure preferential access to millions of dollars worth of phosphate for his company Radiance International.
The department entered into a fresh $9.3 million contract with Radiance to provide accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers.
A month after the contract was signed, police arrested Mr Bhojani and charged him with paying bribes to two Nauruan officials.
He pleaded guilty and was convicted in 2020.
Mr Dutton has been under fire this week over his role in the Morrison government and for allowing his department to enter into a contract with Radiance, despite a briefing about the police investigation.
On Monday, the opposition leader told reporters he had checked his records for a briefing he reportedly received from the Australian Federal Police but could not find anything.
On Friday, ACT chief police officer Neil Gaughan admitted the AFP's previous answer that Mr Dutton was briefed about the investigation was wrong.
Mr Gaughan at first claimed there had been "misreporting" about the briefing but later said the AFP should have used "tighter language" in its previous answer to avoid a misunderstanding.
"When we did a further search of our records and ascertained that, putting in keywords such as 'Nauru', we became aware of the fact that (the answer) was incorrect," he told a Senate estimates committee hearing.
AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw said while Mr Dutton was not told about the Radiance investigation, he did receive a separate briefing about the AFP's concerns about "overt activity" impacting on the government's relationship with Nauru.
Mr Gaughan said the AFP would have told Mr Dutton a foreign interference investigation was under way, but would not have provided details about who was involved.
"It's not a matter for us to brief him on. We don't brief on individuals to ministers. It's inappropriate," he said.
Mr Gaughan said he was not aware Mr Bhojani's company was being paid by the home affairs department.
Australian Associated Press
