Eddie Obeid famously boasted that he faced only a "one per cent" chance of being prosecuted over corrupt dealings uncovered by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

On Thursday the corrupt former Labor kingpin's number came up.

In the first of what is likely to be a string of prosecutions flowing from high-profile corruption inquiries, Obeid and his one-time ministerial ally Ian Macdonald will be prosecuted for the offence of misconduct in public office over separate deals the commission has found were on the nose.

Obeid is facing prosecution for corruptly lobbying ministerial colleagues over his family's secret business interests at Circular Quay. Macdonald is being pursued for gifting a lucrative coal licence at Doyles Creek in the Hunter Valley to a company then chaired by his "mate" and one-time union boss John Maitland.

Maitland, a former boss of the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, is also facing prosecution as an accessory to misconduct in public office, as well as for giving false and misleading evidence to the commission.

The prosecutions are the good news story the ICAC badly needed.

If a corruption watchdog can have an annus horribilis, this might be it. In 12 months it has fielded criticism from both ends of the spectrum: its controversial inquiry into Crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, SC, fuelled claims the ICAC is an all-powerful "star chamber" responsible for "trashing reputations" while Obeid's "one per cent" taunt raised concerns it was a toothless tiger.

Minutes after the ICAC announced on Thursday that Macdonald and Maitland would be prosecuted, a parliamentary inquiry into prosecutions flowing from the commission's inquiries released a discussion paper setting out potential legislative changes that could help secure convictions.

There had been fears - or hopes - in some quarters that the parliamentary inquiry, headed by former Attorney-General Greg Smith, would be used to curtail the ICAC's powers.

But the discussion paper does not stray outside the inquiry's core task. It poses questions about whether a range of statutory offences for corrupt conduct should be created while acknowledging the primary function of the investigatory body is not to secure scalps in court.

The committee raises questions about whether parliament should pass new laws covering corrupt conduct, including statutory offences of misconduct in public office, bribery and conspiracy to defraud a public official, so that the elements of the offence and maximum penalties are clear, and NSW is brought into line with other states and the Commonwealth.

Misconduct in public office - which is one of the charges in the current cases - is a common law offence in NSW and technically its maximum penalty is life in prison. If it was codified by the Parliament, a move supported by the ICAC, a maximum term of between 10 and 14 years is likely. Lying to the commission, the second charge levelled against Maitland, carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

The parliamentary committee noted that the ICAC has suggested a new offence should be created to deal with public officials who have an interest in government contracts. The paper also raises for further discussion the issue of whether the onus of proof should be reversed for the offence of receiving a "corrupt commission or reward". This would require a public official who received a gift or other benefit to prove it had not been given corruptly.

The committee said this would be a "significant step, requiring careful consideration and caution".

Regardless of whether those changes are made, the commission sent a powerful message to NSW on Thursday: watch this space.

It has lobbed a number of briefs of evidence at the DPP this year, seeking its advice as to whether there is sufficient evidence to launch a prosecution.

This includes potential charges against Macdonald, Obeid snr and Obeid's middle son Moses over another corrupt deal in which a lucrative coal tenement was created over the Obeid family's Bylong Valley farm.

Macdonald could also be prosecuted for corruptly receiving a benefit in the form of the services of a prostitute, Tiffanie, as a "reward" for teeing up meetings with state-owned company executives for property developer Ron Medich.

In the words of one witness in the ICAC's Doyles Creek inquiry: "Merry bloody Christmas".