News from the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption
2015 – the year that was
The Commission recently co-hosted the 5th Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference (APSACC), which was held in Brisbane last month. The ICAC is a founding partner, along with the Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission and Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission.
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Where is the sticky information in your organisation?
The integrity and effectiveness of government depends heavily on the diligence of well informed decision-makers. They should be able to answer certain questions, such as... Why is the price so high for such a poor report? Did we really need all of those goods? Is the quality of service up to scratch? Can that person really do the job? The answers to each of these questions could have thwarted corrupt behaviour that ended in an ICAC public inquiry.
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It’s business as usual for the ICAC
Four key changes were made to the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 in September 2015. In a few words, the purpose of these amendments is to (1) clarify the definition of corrupt conduct, (2) enhance the ICAC’s corruption prevention functions, (3) give the ICAC a new power to investigate specified criminal offences referred to it by the NSW Electoral Commission, and (4) limit the ICAC’s power to make findings of corrupt conduct to serious corrupt conduct.
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Keeping it together: systems & structures in the chaos of change
For very good reason, organisational change can be daunting for both managers and employees. Overcoming resistance to it is one of the major challenges facing change management professionals. Indeed, just the prospect of change can trigger resistance among staff. When confronted by fear, change fatigue, survivor’s syndrome, low staff morale, resistance, sabotage and the like, it is unsurprising that a change manager’s attention is often focused on the human factors.
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How’s the ICAC tracking?
The ICAC recently furnished its annual report for the 2014–15 year to the NSW Parliament. In that reporting period, we dealt with over 3,000 reports of suspected corruption, and commenced 42 new preliminary investigations and 14 new full operations. We also conducted 127 compulsory examinations and seven public inquiries, and delivered almost 200 anti-corruption presentations and workshops across the state. All in all, it was another busy year.
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The PID Act reaches its 20-year milestone
Twenty years ago, NSW was one of the first jurisdictions in the world to enact legislation dealing specifically with the protection of public officials who report serious wrongdoing. This anniversary presents an opportunity to take stock; to look back at the last 20 years and to reflect on what has changed to help pave the way for future reform.
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In other news
One of the goals of the ICAC is to educate public sector agencies, public officials and members of the public about corruption and how to report it. Training workshops, rural outreach visits and other engagements are undertaken by ICAC staff throughout the year to achieve this goal.
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