Corruption prevention in the NSW planning system

A workshop for public officials involved in assessing property development and land rezoning applications, creating, amending or reviewing planning instruments and certifying compliance with consent conditions. It focuses on corruption risks within the NSW planning system and how they can be managed. 

Learning outcomes

By the end of this session participants should be aware of:

  • the nature of corruption and the types of conduct that could constitute corruption under the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988 ("the ICAC Act")
  •  conduct that is required to be reported to the ICAC under section 11 of the ICAC Act
  • the factors that motivate, allow, encourage or are used to personally justify corrupt conduct in the planning context
  • some of the likely sources of opportunity for corruption in planning decisions
  • principles of corruption prevention in planning
  • some steps available to planning professionals to help prevent corrupt conduct.

Workshop content

  • About the ICAC 
  • Why are we concerned about planning?
  • What is corrupt conduct?
  • Case study: Operation Dasha
  • Conflicts of interest and corrupt conduct
  • Why corruption happens
  • Risks in the planning system
  • Preventing and reporting corruption

Who should attend?

  • All urban and regional town and strategic planners and managers involved in assessing development and land rezoning proposals, creating, amending or reviewing planning policies and instruments.
  • Other public officials involved in assessing property development and land rezoning applications, creating, amending or reviewing planning instruments and certifying compliance with consent conditions, such as building surveyors, certifiers, environment and heritage officers.

Note: This workshop is intended for people involved in town/urban planning activities, NOT general planning activities such as general project or procurement planning.

Workshop options

This half-day workshop can be delivered in-person or online.

Half-day in-person workshop – In-house

Duration

This workshop requires a time commitment of 3.5 hours including a 15-minute break. This workshop is normally scheduled from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm or 1.00 pm to 4.30 pm.

Attendee numbers

A minimum of 18 attendees is required with a maximum of 25.

Half-day online workshop – In-house or hosted by the ICAC for individuals

To maximise the opportunity for interaction, this workshop has been designed for attendance by individuals all logging in from their own device rather than people attending in a group situation.

Duration

This workshop requires a time commitment of 3.75 hours including a 15-minute break. Participants are asked to log in 15 minutes before the content start time to address any technical issues that may arise. This workshop is normally scheduled from 8.45 am to 12.30 pm or 1.00 pm to 4.45 pm.

Attendee numbers

A minimum of 12 attendees is required with a maximum of 26.

Delivery platform for in-house workshops

The Commission prefers to use Zoom, but MS Teams is also available. If your organisation uses a different platform, we are willing to consider using it as long as it provides the required functionality. 

Costs for online and in-person workshops

Tuition 

The ICAC provides all of its workshops to NSW public officials free-of-charge.

Travel expenses

We will cover our trainers’ travel expenses. 

Materials

Your organisation may be asked to make copies of training materials for distribution to attendees at in-person workshops.

Venue and equipment 

For in-person workshops, it is the agency’s responsibility to provide a venue and to cover the cost of any associated venue or equipment hire. The facilitator will bring a laptop, but a data projector, screen and whiteboard will need to be provided.

Catering

For in-person workshops, the agency is expected to provide basic refreshments for attendees and facilitators for all scheduled tea and lunch breaks.

Book a workshop

Individual public officials

To see what workshops are currently available for individual public officials, and to register, visit the Free workshops calendar and complete the registration form for each workshop you would like to attend.

Agencies

To book an in-house workshop for staff at your agency, please contact [email protected] to discuss your needs.