After a decade of operation, Tasmania’s Integrity Commission has entered a new era in its approach to public sector investigations and misconduct prevention.
In its annual report, tabled in State Parliament today, it outlines improvements to the way it prioritises the use of investigation resources, as well as the adoption of a next-generation learning platform to make integrity training more effective and will lead to its adoption by all State Government and local government entities.
The new approaches are underpinned by a three-month research project the Commission conducted during the year to deepen its understanding of misconduct risks in the Tasmanian public sector and barriers to mitigating the risks.
‘The resulting evidence base means we can focus resources on areas of highest need,’ said Chief Executive Officer, Michael Easton.
The Commission has steadily increased the number of investigations it starts each year, from two in 2010-2011 to 10 last year. This year, three investigations were commenced, reflecting the need to focus our resources on existing matters and a reduction in the number of complaints that warranted further investigation.
The number of new assessments rose from 20 in the Commission’s first year of operation to 57 in 2017-18. Forty were started in 2018-19, with this year’s circumstances seeing 27 new assessments under way.
The Commission received 165 complaints during 2019-20. It completed 28 assessments as well as three misconduct investigations that resulted from complaints, and a further two investigations instigated by the Commission on the basis of misconduct issues identified in its monitoring and analysis processes.
The design of a new digital training platform and associated resources follows the launch of an upgraded website, designed to meet the emerging needs of users.
In the past year, the Commission has doubled its face-to-face training activities, reaching a record 959 public officers. It has also increased its level of regional training.
Integrity Commission Annual report 2019-20 (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Media contact
Teresa Banman
Director, Misconduct Prevention
teresa.banman@integrity.tas.gov.au
1300 720 289