Daniel Andrews’ dismissal of officials who sought to hold his government to account shows that he misunderstood the authority he held as Victoria’s premier, the former head of the state’s anti-corruption watchdog says.

Winning elections did not give Mr Andrews “unlimited authority” that allowed him to ignore checks and balances that bodies such as the ombudsman and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission were tasked with enforcing, Robert Redlich said.