The Victorian Parliament’s Integrity and Oversight Committee (the Committee) has presented a report on its Inquiry into the Education and Prevention Functions of Victoria’s Integrity Agencies.

The Committee reviewed the following agencies that strive to ensure high standards in Victoria’s public sector and expose and address wrongdoing:

• Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC)
• the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC)
• the Victorian Inspectorate (VI)
• the Victorian Ombudsman (VO).

The report focuses on four key questions:

1. what causes corruption and misconduct in the public sector, and how it can be prevented.
2. what constitutes best practice in education and prevention measures (such as public information and workplace training).
3. what are the distinctive, yet complementary, educative and preventive responsibilities of the integrity agencies, the public sector bodies they oversight and members of the public.
4. how the quality and impact of integrity agencies’ education and prevention efforts can be measured.

The report identifies best practice principles for corruption prevention and education, and explains how the agencies’ performance can be enhanced in these areas.

The Committee found that IBAC, OVIC, VI and VO performed well in achieving education outcomes. The inquiries, investigations and reports of these agencies engage the public sector to involve themselves with the values of integrity and anti-corruption. Chair of the Committee, Harriet Shing MP reports that the agencies have also “engaged conscientiously with the public sector and the public, through public information campaigns and often high‐quality education and prevention resources and training.”

The Committee made 18 recommendations, including the following key recommendations:

• across all agencies there is a need for more in‐depth engagement with diverse and vulnerable communities in Victoria.
• across all agencies there is a need for the publication of education and prevention resources that are better tailored to their intended audiences (specifically diverse and vulnerable communities across Victoria).
• the need to provide more realistic, accessible and detailed information for whistleblowers about how to make reports safely and securely. The Committee has also recommended that IBAC consider the development of secure technology so that anonymous reports of wrongdoing can be made with greater confidence.
• that the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic) be amended to provide the OVIC with the power to issue guidelines and other material on the application and interpretation of the Act.
• that the Victorian Public Sector Commission develop an annual ethics and integrity training program.
• a requirement that the agencies develop and use systematic and rigorous frameworks to measure the quality and impact of their work, and to report the outcomes in their annual reports.

Ms Shing notes that there is opportunity for greater systematic and coordinated collaboration between the integrity agencies: “The Committee has recommended that IBAC, OVIC, the VI and the VO establish a corruption‐prevention and education network, which is guided by agreed best practice principles and draws on the expertise and experience of other Victorian integrity leaders. This will help make the integrity agencies’ work in this area more consistent, efficient and effective.”

You can read the full report here.

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A participant in the UN Global Compact, CourtHeath seeks to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals and the principles of the Global Compact with business and government organisations in Victoria.

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IMAGE: Used under licence from shutterstock.com

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