ICAC regional corruption prevention program to visit Southern Tablelands

Monday 23 May 2011

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will visit the Southern Tablelands next week as part of the Commission's outreach program to bring anti-corruption initiatives and training to regional NSW.

The visit, to be based in Queanbeyan, will include workshops and briefing sessions for state and local government agencies to increase awareness about corruption risks and examine ways to prevent corrupt conduct from occurring.

The ICAC Commissioner, the Hon David Ipp AO QC, said the Commission's outreach program provided local agencies across the state with the opportunity to experience hands-on corruption prevention workshops with the Commission's highly-skilled staff.

"The ICAC workshops will include training on better managing protected disclosures, corruption prevention for managers, and a fact-finder workshop which will help agencies to conduct their own internal investigations. For the first time at a rural and regional outreach visit, the Commission will also conduct a workshop on corruption prevention in procurement," Commissioner Ipp said.

The ICAC's Deputy Commissioner, Ms Theresa Hamilton, will host a community leaders' breakfast, which will be attended by approximately 40 people including representatives from local councils, state government agencies, local business people and interest groups.

The visit will also include the NSW Deputy Ombudsman, Chris Wheeler, who will address the breakfast about the role of the Ombudsman. Mr Wheeler will also co-conduct a workshop on the better management of protected disclosures.

State Government agencies attending the outreach activities include Housing NSW, Essential Energy, NSW Health, NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Corrective Services NSW, Fire & Rescue NSW, Office of Environment and Heritage, TAFE NSW, Department of Trade and Investment, Ageing, Disability & Home Care, WorkCover NSW and NSW Fair Trading. Councils participating include Queanbeyan City, Yass Valley, Upper Lachlan Shire, Goulburn Mulwaree, Tumut Shire, Young Shire and Bega Valley Shire.

The ICAC outreach program has proved highly successful since its inception in 2001. Previous visits have included to the Far South Coast, the Illawarra, the Central West, the Hunter, the Far West, the South East, the Central Coast, the North Coast and New England. The Commission last visited Queanbeyan and its surrounding regions in 2005.

Media contact:

ICAC Manager Communications & Media, Nicole Thomas, 02 8281 5799/0417 467 801