Corruption Matters - November 2014 | Issue 44
A word from the Commissioner, the Hon Megan Latham
In September, we settled into our new offices at level 7, 255 Elizabeth Street in Sydney’s CBD. Although the relocation was a response to the need for larger, purpose-built facilities, it was somewhat serendipitous to have made the move during the ICAC’s 25th anniversary year.
It was on 13 March 1989 at 191 Cleveland Street in Redfern that ICAC’s doors opened for the first time. Twelve years later, in 2001, the ICAC moved to its second premises at 133 Castlereagh Street and now, of course, we are located roughly between these two locations at 255 Elizabeth Street.
The ICAC was established 25 years ago in response to growing community concern about the integrity of public administration in NSW. Today, the exposure and investigation of corrupt conduct in the NSW public sector continues to represent a major part of our work.
Statistics from our annual report for the 2013–14 reporting period show that last year we:
- received and managed close to 3,400 matters
- completed a total of 49 preliminary investigations and 14 full investigations
- commenced 43 new preliminary investigations and 10 new full investigations
- conducted 203 compulsory examinations and nine public inquiries
- furnished 12 investigation reports to the NSW Parliament
- made corrupt conduct findings against 41 people
- recommended that the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions be sought with respect to the prosecution of 39 people for various offences.
Another major part of the ICAC’s work is to educate public officials and the wider community about corruption, and how to report it, and to minimise corrupt conduct through research and policy recommendations, training and advice. In the same reporting period, we:
- delivered 90 training sessions to over 1,760 participants
- delivered 79 speaking engagements attended by over 3,200 people
- hosted the biennial Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference, which was attended by over 700 people from government and non-public sectors across Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Germany and the US.
In 2013–14, we also undertook five major projects examining corruption risks of sector-wide significance. This included the landmark publication that outlined the future framework for the management of the state’s coal resources. More information on these and other achievements during the last reporting period is available from the ICAC’s Annual Report 2013–14.
While the ICAC’s headquarters are based in Sydney, and we understand that not everyone can attend our premises in person, it is important for us to extend our reach to members of the public across the state. We do this in a number of ways.
Announcements, transcripts and exhibits from public inquiries, prosecution outcomes, and a range of publications, are made available via the ICAC website. In addition to our speaking engagements and workshops, we travel to at least two regional and rural centres annually as part of our dedicated outreach program. As well as Dubbo, which we visited in June, in December this year we will host a program of events and workshops in Tamworth.
The ICAC is no longer located on Castlereagh Street. It has moved to level 7, 255 Elizabeth Street in Sydney’s CBD. Landline telephone and fax numbers and the post office box address at GPO Box 500 Sydney NSW 2001 remain unchanged. For more information, call 1800 463 909 or 02 8281 5999.