Introduction
This is a report of an investigation for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Integrity Commission (the Commission), prepared pursuant to section 55(1) of the Integrity Commission Act 2009 (Tas) (IC Act).
These findings relate to an investigation into alleged misconduct in 8 recruitments at a local council. This report and findings focus on systemic issues faced by local government across Tasmania. I make these findings under sections 31(a)–(c), (e) and (h) of the IC Act, which describes the Commission's educative, preventative and advisory functions as follows:
(a) to take such steps as the Integrity Commission considers necessary to uphold, promote and ensure adherence to standards of conduct, propriety and ethics in public authorities;
(b) to review and make recommendations about practices, procedures and standards in relation to conduct, propriety and ethics in public authorities and to evaluate their application within those authorities;
(c) to provide advice to public officers and the public about standards of conduct, propriety and ethics in public authorities;
…
(e) to evaluate the adequacy of systems and procedures in public authorities for ensuring compliance with relevant codes of conduct;
…
(h) undertake research into matters related to ethical conduct and investigatory processes …
This report focuses on 4 systemic issues identified in the investigation:
- the lack of requirement to apply the merit principle
- an absence of model policies and procedures, including relating to direct appointments
- inadequate record keeping practices, and
- poor understanding, identification and management of conflicts of interest.
Related content: Media release