Corruption occurs in environments in which criminal laws are regularly and widely broken and those violations are regarded as misdemeanors by a large proportion of society. This article uses a definition of organized crime which examines the characteristics of the illegal markets within which criminal groups operate; they deal in illegal goods and services; provide for other services which help the market operate (including corruption, intimidation, protection, and money laundering); and often assume an interconnection between financiers, organizers, employees, enforcer, and regulatory and law enforcement agencies. These markets include illegal drugs, vice, illegal gambling, and white collar crime. In Australia, more so than in the U.S. and other countries, there has not always been an association between organized crime and corruption. Since 1984, the Australian National Crime Authority has investigated nine matters, in three or four of which corruption has figured prominently, in two or three to some extent, and not at all in the remainder indicating the complexity of organized crime and the need for greater flexibility and sophistication by policy makers. Because of the role played by organized crime in illegal drug trafficking, society in general and law enforcement agencies in particular should examine and resolve issues relating to the drug trade. 8 references.