Corruption Matters - June 2020 | Issue 55
A message from the Chief Commissioner
This issue of the NSW ICAC’s Corruption Matters newsletter reaches you at a time when we have all experienced an extraordinary period of unrest, uncertainty, and for some, loss. As a pre-caution against COVD-19, the ICAC closed its offices in late March, and most of our staff have been working remotely since then. At the time of writing, we are still in that position, and monitoring the situation as to when we may begin to return to our premises.
I appreciate that many of our readers are in a similar situation, and carrying on with their work and other commitments. Like you, we have kept our workflows going, and I am pleased to be able to present this edition of our newsletter, which features many articles that are as relevant at this time as any other.
We have continued our investigative and corruption prevention work during the pandemic. The latter has included the production of an advice paper for public officials on managing corruption risks during COVID-19. This paper provides guidance on the fraud and corruption risks that arise during periods of disruption and economic downturn, and examines measures that may assist in protecting government funds. You may read more about that in this edition.
In May, the Commissioners, the Executive and I appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on the ICAC, to review our 2018—19 annual report. During that hearing, I also discussed a proposal for a new, independent funding model for the Commission. You can read more about the proposed funding model, and the case for it, in a special report produced by the Commission under section 75 of the ICAC Act. The need for a new independent funding model for the ICAC marks the first time the Commission has produced a special report of this nature. It can be downloaded from our website.
We have all no doubt become accustomed to public and personal events being cancelled due to the crowd gathering risks associated with COVID-19, and some of our event work has also been affected. The 13th National Investigations Symposium, planned for November this year, has been postponed to November next year. The symposium will be held at The Four Seasons, Sydney, and I encourage you to keep an eye out for updates and information about this important conference.
The Commission recently released its investigation report on Operation Gerda, which involved the over-payment of public funds by the University of Sydney for security services, and resulted in serious corrupt conduct findings against six individuals. The ICAC also made 24 corruption prevention recommendations to help the University to improve its systems and prevent the recurrence of the behaviour exposed in the investigation.
On that note, I would like to advise and remind readers that we are able to receive corruption allegation reports from public officials and the community during this period, which you can submit via the forms on our website.
I commend this issue of Corruption Matters to you, and hope that, in these unusual times, you find it to be helpful and informative.
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