An exposure draft of legislation to establish the independent integrity commission will be tabled when the ACT's parliament resumes after winter break next Tuesday.

Under the Barr government's preferred model, the commissioner will have to power to investigate all public officials - including politicians and police - but will be subject to oversight from an inspector.

The commission will be forward-looking, with limited scope to examine retrospective actions back to the time of self-government.

It also relies on a narrower definition of corruption than the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, which allows potential breaches of codes of conducts to be investigated.

However the commissioner will be granted the power to authorise the use of surveillance devices with a warrant, greenlight controlled operations, and approve the use of false identities for investigating officers.

Politicians, staffers and public sector heads must notify the commission if they have reasonable grounds to suspect someone of serious or systemic corruption.

Mandatory corruption notifications will be a notifiable instrument, which are published online.

However there will be no penalty for failing to report, despite that being a recommendation of a select committee that proposed a raft of recommendations about the scope and operations of the proposed watchdog in October last year.

The government said it chose not to impose fines or sanctions for failure to report as other jurisdictions do not, and because wilfully neglecting to address corruption would also make an official subject to disciplinary action or investigation themselves.

According to the draft legislation, the commissioner must prioritise the investigation of serious or systemic corruption against police, politicians and public servants, but will have the discretion to pursue any matters they consider corrupt.

Judges, ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal members, registrars and staff exercising judicial powers will also be exempt from being investigated, as they are already covered by the Judicial Council and Judicial Commission.

This will also ensure the separation of powers is maintained, the government said.

Police are covered by the definition of public official despite protests from the Australian Federal Police, however that clause will be delayed by a year to allow consultation with the federal government.

The ACT's self-government act prevents the territory making laws about the Australian Federal Police, or amending Commonwealth legislation without its agreement.

The chief police officer will also not be required to notify the integrity commissioner if a matter is being dealt with by the Australian Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner.

The commissioner can also hold hearings in public or private, subject to a public interest test.

To hold a public hearing, the commissioner must write to the inspector seven days out, explaining their reasons for doing so.

People can also challenge the commission's decision to hold a public hearing and the commissioner must accept written submissions as far as possible.

The commission must comply with the rules of natural justice and procedural fairness, allow people to seek legal advice and be represented by a lawyer during examinations, and can issue confidentiality and suppression orders.

The commission was promised by all three major parties during the 2016 election campaign.

While the committee recommended it start work this year, the government delayed the start date until 2019.

Since then the Opposition has proposed its own bill, based on the committee's report and both that bill and the government's proposal will be examined by the same committee ahead of Assembly debate on a final bill expected later this year.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the legislation would be debated in November, and could pass by the end of the year.