The ACT Greens have been rapped for not being faster in reporting sexual misconduct allegations against former MLA and colleague Johnathan Davis.

The criticism comes in an independent review into how the party handled the matter by former Australian Public Service Commissioner Lynelle Briggs.

In her report to the Legislative Assembly Speaker Joy Burch, Ms Briggs says that, on balance, she didn’t believe the Greens “wilfully or improperly withheld” information about potential wrongdoing by Mr Davis.

“In my judgement, the Greens should have gone to the police as soon as they were advised of the rumours, and definitely when [they] received the allegations from the young complainant, which involved potentially criminal activity.”

Ms Briggs has recommended changes to Assembly policies requiring members and staff to report allegations of illegal sexual conduct within 24 hours.

Mr Davis resigned from the Assembly after allegations emerged in November of a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male. In the ACT, the age of consent is 16. No criminal charges have been made against him.

In responding the the Briggs report, Greens Leader and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury and fellow minister Emma Davidson say they accept the review’s assessment and its recommendations.

“At every moment, every member of our team responded to the information provided to us in good faith, with big hearts, open minds and a strong sense of responsibility to every person impacted,” they say in a prepared statement.

“The safety and wellbeing of young people is paramount, and we are committed to working within our organisation, across the Assembly and with the entire ACT community to set high bar and meet those shared expectations at all times.

“As stated in the report, from the moment we were first made aware of concerns about Mr Davis’ conduct, our primary concern was to ensure that the concerns were taken seriously and acted on promptly.

“The report states that the actions of the Greens were largely in line with the Legislative Assembly’s Child Safety Code of Conduct and Policy, that we did not wilfully or improperly withhold any information, and that we ensured the information brought to us was followed up diligently and quickly, then acted upon.

“The ACT Greens take the conduct of our MLAs seriously and believe Canberrans are right to expect the highest standards of behaviour, integrity and accountability from our representatives and members in office.”