Integrity Policy.pdf

ACTPS
Integrity Policy

2010

Contents

1.
Definitions ...................................................................................................................................... 4
2.
Legal underpinnings of the Integrity Policy .................................................................................... 4
2.1.
Agencies covered by the Public Sector Management Act 1994 ............................................ 4
2.2.
Territory Owned Corporations .............................................................................................. 5
2.3.
Legislation with general applicability ................................................................................... 5
3.
Coverage ......................................................................................................................................... 5
4.
Key components of the integrity procedures ................................................................................... 5
4.1.
Chief Executive Financial Instruction ................................................................................... 5
4.2.
Public Interest Disclosure ...................................................................................................... 6
4.3.
Other components of the integrity procedures ....................................................................... 6
5.
Ethical conduct................................................................................................................................ 6
5.1.
Conflicts of interest ............................................................................................................... 7
5.2.
Gifts ....................................................................................................................................... 8
5.3.
Second jobs............................................................................................................................ 8
5.4.
Confidentiality of information ............................................................................................... 8
6.
Protecting integrity .......................................................................................................................... 8
6.1.
Risk management for integrity .............................................................................................. 9
6.2.
Awareness of integrity ......................................................................................................... 12
6.3.
Detection ............................................................................................................................. 12
6.4.
Review of Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan ............................................................... 13
7.
Case handling ................................................................................................................................ 13
7.1.
Procedures for Dealing with Allegations or Reports of Suspected Fraud or Corruption ..... 13
7.2.
Using the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994 .................................................................... 14
7.3.
Determining Investigation Action ....................................................................................... 14
7.4.
Panel of investigators .......................................................................................................... 16
7.5.
Investigation standards ........................................................................................................ 16
7.6.
Recovery of Public Monies ................................................................................................. 17
7.7.
Model Litigant Guidelines ................................................................................................... 17
8.
Reporting ...................................................................................................................................... 17
8.1.
Management information system ........................................................................................ 17
8.2.
Annual Reports .................................................................................................................... 18
8.3.
Using Data for Strategic Planning ....................................................................................... 18
9.
External Service Providers ............................................................................................................ 19
10.
Roles and functions of players ................................................................................................. 19
10.1.
Audit Committee framework ............................................................................................... 19
10.2.
Senior Officer Responsible for Business Integrity Risk ...................................................... 20
10.3.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) .......................................................................................... 20
10.4.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ................................................................................ 20
10.5.
Ombudsman......................................................................................................................... 21
10.6.
Auditor-General ................................................................................................................... 21
10.7.
Commissioner for Public Administration ............................................................................ 22
10.8.
ACT Government Solicitor ................................................................................................. 22
10.9.
Chief Minister's Department ................................................................................................ 22
10.10.
Management Council ...................................................................................................... 22
11.
Training .................................................................................................................................... 23
12.
Evaluation of Policy ................................................................................................................. 24
13.
Transitional .............................................................................................................................. 24
13.1.
Model Chief Executive Financial Instructions .................................................................... 24
13.2.
Integrity risk assessments and Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plans .............................. 24
14.
APPENDIX A: Coverage of Policy ......................................................................................... 25
15.
APPENDIX B: Case handling criteria ................................................................................... 26
16.
APPENDIX C: Recording information ................................................................................... 27
17.
APPENDIX D: Role of Audit Committees .............................................................................. 30
18.
APPENDIX E: Appointment and role of SERBIRs ................................................................. 31
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The ACT Government is committed to:
•  encouraging its employees, and all persons who perform functions on its behalf, to
act with the highest integrity;
•  ensuring that its employees do not abuse their office; and
•  protecting its revenue, expenditure and property from any attempt, either by
members of the public, contractors, sub-contractors, agents, intermediaries or its
own employees to gain by deceit financial or other benefits.
This policy is designed to protect public money and property, protect the integrity,
security and reputation of our public sector agencies while maintaining a high level
of services to the community consistent with the good government of the ACT.
While this document has been prepared to inform all ACT public employees of their
obligations, it is specifically aimed at:
•  Chief Executives and Senior Managers to inform them of the obligations upon
them to include issues of integrity in their day-to-day management;
•  Senior Executives Responsible for Business Integrity Risk, who will bear the
primary responsibility for the implementation of this Policy; and
•  Chairs of Audit Committees who will be required to include the issues covered by
this Policy in their responsibilities of reviewing and monitoring governance, risk
and control issues.
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1.  Definitions
In this policy:
•   ‘Agencies’ means all ‘administrative units’ and ‘Territory Instrumentalities’ as
defined for the purposes of the Public Sector Management Act 1994, as well as
Territory Owned Corporations;
•  'corruption' in relation to an employee means that the employee seeks, obtains or
receives any benefit, other than lawful salary and allowances, on the understanding
that the employee will do or refrain from doing anything in the course of their
duties or will attempt to influence any other employee on behalf of any person;
•  ‘employee’ means an officer or employee of an Agency and includes a person who
performs functions on behalf of an Agency1;
•   'fraud' means taking or obtaining by deception, money or another benefit from the
government when not entitled to the money or benefit, or attempting to do so - this
includes evading a liability to government;
•  ‘integrity’ means the exercise of authority in accordance with the stated values and
principles of the ACT Public Service and the control of fraud and corruption; and
•  ‘SERBIR’ means Senior Executive Responsible for Business Integrity Risk.
The values and principles of the ACT Public Service (ACTPS) mentioned in the
definition of integrity include the general obligations of public employees detailed in
Section 9 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (PSM Act).
The definitions of fraud and corruption include a range of offences under the
Criminal Code 2002 (including but not limited to):
•  obtaining money or benefit, etc., from the Territory by false pretences or by false
representation;
•  defrauding the Territory;
•  unlawfully removing property;
•  stealing or fraudulently misappropriating Territory property; and
•  bribing Territory officers, or accepting a bribe by a Territory officer.
2.  Legal underpinnings of the Integrity Policy
Because this policy covers agencies with differing legislative standings, the legal
underpinnings vary.
2.1.
Agencies covered by the Public Sector Management Act 1994
•  general obligations of public employees detailed in Section 9 of the PSM Act;

1 Section 9 requires contracts for the performance of functions by contractors to be in accordance with
the intent of this policy.
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•  general obligation upon agencies to implement the values and principles of fairness
and integrity (Paragraphs 6 (c) (d) and (e) of the PSM Act);
•  responsibility of a chief executive for the administration and business of
administrative units under the chief executive’s control (Paragraph 29 (1) (a) of the
PSM Act);
•  disciplinary provisions of Part 9 of the PSM Act, particularly provisions relating to
the failure to fulfill the duties as an officer (Section 179);
•  Public Sector Management Standard (PSM Standard) Chapter 2 – Ethics;
•  financial management responsibilities of chief executives (Section 31 of the
Financial Management Act 1996 (FM Act));
2.2.
Territory Owned Corporations
Territory Owned Corporations have been requested to comply with the policy. It is
open to those entities to amend the policy to appropriately reflect a more commercial
focus. However, given the emphasis on governance for commercial entities, the core
elements of the policy are likely to be relevant.
2.3.
Legislation with general applicability
•  Ombudsman Act 1989;
•  Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994; and
•  Criminal Code 2002.
This document contains references to the PSM Act and the PSM Standards. Not all
Agencies covered by the policy are bound by these provisions. For those agencies, it
is suggested that they adopt procedures that implement the intent of those provisions,
insofar as they are necessary to implement this policy.
3.  Coverage
This policy covers all the agencies as defined in Section 1. At APPENDIX A is a list
of the agencies that have separate financial reporting obligations for the purposes of
the ACT Budget and are therefore required to take implementation action as a result
of this policy2.
4.  Key components of the integrity procedures
4.1.
Chief Executive Financial Instruction
The Department of the Treasury has developed a suite of Model Chief Executive
Financial Instructions. Section 31 of the FM Act sets down responsibilities upon
chief executives and Agencies are strongly urged to adopt these to assist in meeting
these responsibilities. CEFI 1.7 has been expanded to include the obligations arising
from this policy. That document provides detailed guidance on the action necessary

2 As described in the transitional arrangements in Section 13, some agencies may opt to be covered by
the integrity procedures of an administrative unit.
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to fully implement the policy and Agencies are encouraged to adopt the Model
Instruction, with any modification considered necessary to meet individual Agency
needs.
4.2.
Public Interest Disclosure
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994 (PID Act) deals with whistle blowing and
the protection of people who report certain types of conduct dealt with in this Policy.
The Act sets down processes for reporting cases, investigating them and dealing with
any unlawful reprisals made as a result of the reporting.
Agencies are reminded that they have specific obligations under the PID Act and that
these perform a crucial role in the integrity framework.
A Guide to the PID Act, which sets out in detail the policy and procedures relating to
this scheme can be accessed at
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/governance/public/publications .
4.3.
Other components of the integrity procedures
The ACT Public Service Code of Ethics is a booklet that describes in practical terms
the ethical obligations upon staff. It is available at
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/governance/public/publications.
As well as the elements described above, the package of integrity procedures includes
the following detailed practical guidance:
•  Model Training package – training material on the whole-of-government elements
of the integrity framework will be developed by CMD. This will be made available
to Agencies to augment or modify as they see fit; and
•  Fraud Investigation Standards – detailed standards for the conduct of investigations
will be developed, based upon the work the Commonwealth has done in this field.
What has been described above forms the core of the integrity framework in the
ACTPS. Other procedures that support integrity are:
•  ACT Procurement Policy, Guidelines and Circulars;
•  reports and guidelines issued by the ACT Auditor-General;
•  Chief Minister’s Annual Reporting Directions; and
•  ownership agreements.
5.  Ethical conduct
While the institutions and procedures underpinning the integrity of the ACTPS are
very important, the key component of integrity is the way in which individual public
employees and office holders perform their day-to-day duties. Those obligations are
set down in Section 9 of the PSM Act.  An associated document the ACT Public
Service Code of Ethics provides practical guidance on ethics issues for staff and is
described in Section 4.3 above.
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Managers themselves are urged to exhibit the highest standard of ethical conduct and
to ensure that mechanisms for encouraging that conduct are embedded in the day-to-
day operations of the Agency. “Achieves results with integrity” is one of the five
identified Senior Executive Capabilities promulgated in February 2010.
In managing staff, particular attention should be paid to the following areas of ethical
conduct:
•  conflicts of interest;
•  accepting gifts;
•  second jobs; and
•  confidentiality of information.
The following Sections summarise the policy in each of these areas.
5.1.
Conflicts of interest
A ‘conflict of interest’ occurs when an employee’s private interests improperly
influence the performance of the employee’s official duties and responsibilities.
A conflict of interest can be actual in that the improper influence is occurring, or has
happened in the past. This is, at the very least, a breach of Section 9 of the PSM Act
and should be treated as a disciplinary matter or could even be corruption under the
Criminal Code 2002.
By contrast, an apparent conflict of interest can be said to exist where it appears, to
an outsider, that an employee’s private interests could improperly influence the
performance of their duties but this is not in fact the case. Failure to avoid or disclose
this situation is also a breach of Section 9 of the PSM Act and should be treated as a
disciplinary matter. In determining if an apparent conflict of interest exists the test is
whether a neutral observer would regard the officer’s actions as reasonable. It is
essential that someone other than the officer make this judgment.
A potential conflict of interest arises where a public official has private interests that
are of such a nature that a conflict of interest would arise if the employee were to
become involved in official responsibilities in the future related to those interests.
Private interests are not limited to financial or pecuniary interests, or those interests
that generate a direct personal benefit to the employee. A conflict of interest may
involve otherwise legitimate private activity, personal affiliations and associations,
and family interests, if those interests could reasonably be considered likely to
improperly influence the employee’s performance of their duties. A particular case of
conflict of interest occurs when the negotiation of future employment by an employee
prior to leaving public office involves the use of official information or contacts to
give that person an unfair advantage.
As mentioned above, Section 9 of the PSM Act requires employees to avoid or
disclose conflict of interest situations. Employees can avoid conflict of interest
situations by, for example, disposing of shares or resigning from problematic private
positions.
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Where a conflict of interest situation cannot be avoided by the action of the employee
and has been disclosed, the Agency has an obligation to assist in the resolution of the
problem. This can occur by ensuring that the employee is not involved in actions or
decisions related to the conflict or even transferring the employee to another position.
5.2.
Gifts
One particular example of conflict of interest is the acceptance of gifts. A gift
offered to an employee that is related in any way to the performance of official duties
has the potential to damage the employee’s reputation or affect the public’s trust in
the Agency’s independence and integrity. Because of this, there are strict rules about
accepting gifts or other benefits through official duties.
The basic rule is that gifts or benefits cannot be accepted without the specific
approval of the Chief Executive, although some discretion may apply to gifts of little
financial value and where there is no reasonable possibility that it could cause a real
or apparent conflict of interest.
5.3.
Second jobs
An issue that could involve a conflict of interest is the holding of a second job.
Section 244 of the PSM Act requires formal approval for a wide range of outside
employment activities and section 9 of the PSM Standards provides further detailed
guidance. While not prohibited, the holding of second jobs has the potential for real
and apparent conflicts of interest and the maintenance of high ethical standards
requires this issue to be closely monitored.
5.4.
Confidentiality of information
Employees often have access to documentation the Government holds, both in
electronic and paper form. That information can include sensitive information about
the internal workings of Government, commercial-in-confidence information and
personal information about ACT citizens. Much of this information has been
provided involuntarily, through legislative requirements.
Disclosing official information for personal gain is a serious matter. Employees have
ethical responsibilities to safeguard this information and to ensure it is used only for
official purposes. These responsibilities also take the form of legal obligations under
the PSM Act and PSM Standards, Section 10 of the Criminal Code 2002, the Privacy
Act 1988 (Cwlth) and the Health Records (Privacy and Access) Act 1997.
6. Protecting integrity
Section 20 of the PSM Standards, requires Agencies to adopt an active preventative
strategy towards the control of all breaches of integrity, including fraud and
corruption. Once there has been a breach of integrity, the damage to the reputation
of the Service and the loss of resources has already occurred and, no matter how
effectively the case is handled, these negative aspects cannot be undone.
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6.1.
Risk management for integrity
The PSM Standards require Chief Executives to manage risks to the integrity of the
Agency through the application of the current Risk Management Standard as issued
by Standards Australia. This will involve the assessment of the risks and the
treatment of the risks through control mechanisms.
Risk assessment
In applying the Risk Management Standard to the specific area of risk to Agencies’
integrity, there are certain issues that need specific attention. Practical guidance on
these issues is provided in the Model Chief Executive Financial Instruction 1.7.
The matters that Agencies need to take into account when assessing the risks to
integrity are as follows:
•  establishing the context of risks to integrity, all relevant issues including fraud,
corruption and the conduct issues covered by Section 9 of the PSM Act. At a
broader level are a series of factors like waste of public resources, mismanagement
and abuse of office that should also be taken into account;
•  key stakeholders should be identified and consulted. As well as a broad range of
expertise within the Agency, these should include important external service
providers. Key institutions in the criminal justice system relevant to the Agency
need to be consulted, and Agencies may wish to consider approaching the
Ombudsman and the Auditor-General for input;
•  as well as monetary loss, damage to the reputation of the Agency or the ACT
Public Service as a whole needs to be considered as a risk criteria;
•  where possible, the input of investigators familiar with the Agency’s systems
should be sought, as they develop a deep appreciation of the risks of fraud and
corruption;
•  Section 20 of the PSM Standards specifically requires that particular attention be
paid to the risks of breaches of integrity, including fraud and corruption in the
provision of services by providers from outside the ACTPS. Further guidance on
this is provided in Section 9 below;
•  while not attempting to pre-empt the range of risk areas that Agencies should
address experience has shown that there are some areas of public sector
administration that are particularly prone to breakdowns in integrity. As a matter
of prudence, the Agencies should pay attention to the risks associated with:
o  information technology and information security;
o  electronic commerce, electronic service delivery and the Internet;
o  grants and other payments or benefits programs;
o  tendering processes, purchasing and contract management;
o  services provided to the community;
o  revenue collection;
o  use of Government credit cards;
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o  travel allowance and other common allowances;
o  salaries; and
o  property and other physical assets including physical security;
•  Agencies should carefully examine records of cases that have been investigated to
ascertain where control processes have broken down;
•  The adequacy of controls should be carefully assessed. This is extremely
important in the area of integrity – particularly fraud. This step highlights the
importance of a broad participation base in the risk assessment process. Generally,
managers have limited day-to-day experience of detailed control mechanisms.
Therefore in this element of the risk assessment process, managers should actively
seek the valuable insights of those employees who implement the controls;
•  Agencies need to take care when converting ratings of consequence and likelihood
into numeric weightings so as to enable risk priorities to be set involving a wide
variety of functions. This is a challenge when attempting to measure in a
comparable way financial risks and risks to reputation across a wide range of
functions;
•  the decisions made during the risk assessment process needs to be recorded and
filed. This will enable the risk assessment methodology that has been developed to
be replicated, or more likely, to be fine-tuned to deal with future developments;
•  in the process of identifying and analysing risks, there will be a lot of information
from the participants on what needs to be done to reduce or eliminate risks. This
information also needs to be recorded in detail to inform the next stage in the
process; and
•  even though the risk assessment and the development of the fraud and corruption
prevention plan are described as separate processes, it is essential that they be
undertaken together. The end product of this effort is to develop a series of action
items that will reduce risks to Agencies’ integrity.
It needs to be noted that there is no one ‘template’ risk assessment methodology for
assessing the risks to an organisation’s integrity. Best practice suggests a separate
methodology be developed for every risk management exercise. While this may be
an unnecessarily purist approach, certainly any existing risk assessment methodology
needs to be examined very thoroughly to ensure that it fully meets the Agency’s
needs.
It is open to the Agencies to engage an outside service provider to assist in the
process. Where this is done, it does not in any way detract from the formal
responsibility of the Chief Executive to deal with the Department’s integrity issues.
As well, when an outside provider has been engaged to undertake any part of the risk
management process, the SERBIR is responsible for ensuring that the methodology
used meets the Department’s needs.
Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan.
Under subsection 20(3) of the PSM Standards, the Department is required to develop
and implement a Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan. The preparation of this plan
follows on from the formal risk assessment of the Agency.
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There is no set format for a fraud and corruption prevention plan. The following are
the matters that will be contained in the Agency plans:
•  it should be based upon a recent assessment of the risks to the Agency and will
deal with those risks in priority order;
•  the Risk Management Standard allows for a number of responses for dealing with
risks, including accepting risks, insuring against risks and transferring risks. These
responses are not appropriate when dealing with integrity. With risks to the
integrity of the Agency, these should all be dealt with through reducing their
likelihood by improving controls and raising employee awareness;
•  the plan should clearly identify which line area of the Agency is responsible for
dealing with the risk;
•  the SERBIR’s primary role will be monitoring that the plan is implemented and
coordinating any risk treatments that involve more than one area of the Agency;
•  against each of the risks identified, the plan should set detailed and clearly
identified actions. These action items will be cast in such a way as to easily
identify when the action has been completed. Risks should not be dealt with by
creating another monitoring mechanism;
•  the plan should have a realistic timetable for implementation. That timetable
should reflect the priority afforded the risk in the risk assessment process; and
•  the plan should coordinate the response to integrity risks with other governance
mechanisms including  – internal audit, physical security and IT security.
Private Sector Providers
Many Agencies draw upon the expertise and experience of the private sector in the
assessment of the risks to integrity and the preparation of the Fraud and Corruption
Prevention Plan. Risk management is one aspect of management generally and while
external assistance can be valuable, the responsibility and accountability must lie
with the Agency.
In engaging private sector providers for these sorts of tasks, Agencies are urged to
couch the requirements to include skills transfer from the private sector rather than
purely the delivery of a discrete product.
Certification
As noted above, responsibility and accountability for integrity matters lies with the
Agency. PSM Standard, subsection 21(6), specifies that the Chief Executive certify
in the Annual Report that a risk assessment has been undertaken in accordance with
the Risk Management Standard and in accordance with the requirements set down in
this document.
Secondly, the Standard requires that the Chief Executive certify in the Annual Report
that treatments for adequately dealing with the integrity risks identified have been
addressed in the Fraud and Corruption Plan and in accordance with the requirements
set down in this document.
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Finally, the Standard requires that the Chief Executive certify in the Annual Report
the progress during the reporting year on the implementation of the fraud and
corruption prevention plan.
Role of Audit Committee in certification process.
The primary responsibility for management of an agency’s risks is with the senior
management of the agency. One of the functions of the Audit Committee is to
provide an independent opinion to the Chief Executive regarding the adequacy of risk
management processes. To perform this function, the Audit Committee will need to
be provided by the SERBIR with risk assessments for the agency, proposed strategies
to address risks, and action being taken to address unacceptable risk levels.
The Audit Committee may arrange for independent reviews to be undertaken of any
of the management processes in regard to risk management. Results of these reviews
will be directly reported to the Chief Executive.
6.2.
Awareness of integrity
Agencies have a responsibility to ensure that the relevant ACT whole-of-government
policies and Agency specific policies are made available to all staff.
Chief Executives are urged to use every available opportunity to highlight to staff the
importance of integrity and role they play in its maintenance. This can involve
encouraging managers to discuss the issue at staff meetings, running articles on
integrity in staff newsletters, issuing a staff circular on the integrity policy and
making integrity one of the criteria in staff awards.
Further, Chief Executives and all senior staff are urged to provide leadership by
example and to exemplify honesty, integrity and probity in all work related activities.
6.3.
Detection
The processes for reporting fraud and corruption outlined in Section 8 below perform
an invaluable function in bringing cases to the attention of Agencies.
These mechanisms are essentially reactive in that they come into effect only after the
wrongdoing has occurred. Agencies are urged to adopt, and publicise, programs of
actively seeking out cases of fraud and corruption, based upon Agency records. Such
actions will perform a valuable deterrence role.
In actively seeking out cases of fraud and corruption, Agencies need to be sensitive
to:
•  the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988 not to use information disclosed for one
purpose for an unrelated purpose;
•  the rights of clients and employees not to be the subject of surveillance unless a
serious criminal offence is suspected; and
•  the cost-effectiveness of detection activity.
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6.4.
Review of Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan
Agencies are required to review the Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan every two
years and that review will entail:
•  determining that the risk assessment methodologies are valid;
•  conducting another risk assessment;
•  reviewing changes in the programs operation and environment since the last plan;
•  addressing recommendations in the last fraud and corruption prevention plan not
yet implemented; and
•  developing a further two year program for fraud and corruption prevention which
will rectify residual shortcomings in the procedures.
If there has been a major change in the functions, responsibilities or procedures of the
Agency, a further risk assessment will be conducted and if new risks are identified
the plan will need to be altered accordingly. The sort of events that may precipitate a
risk assessment outside the usual cycle is a Machinery of Government change.
7.  Case handling
It is unrealistic to expect that prevention mechanisms alone will eliminate fraud and
corruption.
7.1.
Procedures for Dealing with Allegations or Reports of Suspected
Fraud or Corruption
Agencies should establish and promulgate procedures that fully inform staff of their
obligations to report suspicions about all breaches of integrity, including fraud and
corruption, and set down the formal Agency processes as to how the allegations will
be handled.
Detailed practical guidance is provided in the Model Chief Executive Financial
Instruction.
Within each Agency, the SERBIR is responsible for determining whether the
allegation:
•  is without foundation;
•  should be dismissed as trivial, mischievous or vexatious;
•  is of a disciplinary nature and should be dealt with in accordance with the agency’s
disciplinary procedures;
•  should be referred to the Auditor-General;
•  should be referred to the Chief Executive;
•  is one that may be resolved by the application of administrative or civil action to
recover losses; or
•  is of a serious criminal nature and warrants investigation with a view to handling as
a criminal matter.
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With the exception of cases of a criminal nature, the Agency should have regard to
the likelihood of a successful outcome when making decisions on what action to take
about a particular case.
With cases of a criminal nature, the decision on what action is to be taken is made by
the Director of Public Prosecutions. It should be noted that no person or authority
other than the DPP may offer or imply that a suspect will not be prosecuted or that
information provided by the suspect will not be used in evidence against him or her.
Where an allegation is received about a worker’s compensation issue, the Agency
should refer the matter to the ACT’s workers’ compensation provider, Comcare at
http://www.comcare.gov.au/ .
7.2.
Using the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994
The PID Act creates a statutory scheme to encourage the disclosure of improper
conduct or wrongdoing (sometimes known as ‘whistle blowing’). The Act has
powerful provisions for the protection of people, which includes ACTPS employees,
who report fraud, corruption, abuse of office, waste or endangering health or safety of
the public.
Every government agency is obliged to put in place procedures for receiving and
dealing with disclosures made under the Act. These procedures must deal with:
•  making public interest disclosures;
•  assisting and providing information to people to make public interest disclosures;
•  protection from unlawful reprisals; and
•  acting on unlawful reprisals
Under this legislation the Agencies must facilitate the making of disclosures. This is
best achieved by identifying a contact officer for the receipt of disclosures.  It is
desirable that this contact officer is the SERBIR.
Further information on Public Interest Disclosure can be located at
http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/governance/public/publications .
7.3.
Determining Investigation Action
In making a decision as to whether fraud and corruption cases should be referred to
the AFP, handled by formally qualified investigators or handled by resources from
within the agency, the table at APPENDIX B should be used to assist in making that
decision.
Agencies are strongly urged to keep the AFP informed of fraud and corruption cases
that have the potential for prosecution action. Early notification increases the
chances of a successful prosecution. Such notification should be undertaken even
where early indications are that the case may not be accepted as a formal referral in
line with the guidelines set down in APPENDIX B. Information from early referrals
can assist in maintaining the AFP’s criminal intelligence capacity in the ACT and
will enable the AFP to better serve Agencies where concerted criminal action is
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suspected. As well, the AFP will be able to provide assistance to agencies in
considering whether to make a formal referral.
Requirement for investigator qualifications
The Policy is written on the assumption that most Agencies do not have access to in-
house qualified investigators. For those that do, they may not need to utilise the
processes outlined in Section 7.4 below.
With the exception of cases handled by the AFP, Agencies need to be satisfied that
the person undertaking the investigation:
•  is not involved in the matter and has no conflicts of interest; and
•  possesses sufficient skills and experience to undertake the investigation.
With regard to the latter issue, the Agency will need to assess whether the complexity
of the case warrants an investigation by a person with formal investigation
qualifications. For other than AFP officers, the minimum formal qualification is a
Certificate IV in Government (Fraud investigation).
Referral of cases to the AFP
As outlined above, where cases fulfil the criteria for being serious and complex, the
Agency must refer it to the AFP.   If there is any doubt about what action to take, the
Agency should consult with the AFP.
The point of contact in the AFP is:

Superintendent Territory Investigations, Fraud Investigation

Territory Investigations Group

Telephone:
6256 7777
Where a matter is referred in writing to the AFP by an Agency, the referral should
provide as a minimum:
•  the allegations(s);
•  the names of the suspected offender(s) (where known);
•  a chronological account of the facts giving rise to the allegation(s);
•  details of witnesses;
•  copies of relevant documents;
•  references to any relevant legislation; and
•  contact details of the SERBIR.
The AFP will make a decision, based upon its workload at the time and available
resources, as to what action it will take. The AFP will notify the agency referring the
matter, within 28 working days of receiving the referral of the action it will be taking
That action could be:
•  take over the investigation entirely;
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•  jointly manage the investigation with the Agency; or
•  refer the matter back to the Agency for investigation.
Should the AFP take over an investigation, it will keep the Agency informed of
progress, notify the Agency of the outcome and, if applicable, provide the Agency
with any observations it may have about how fraud control and anti-corruption
systems can be improved.
7.4.
Panel of investigators
Chief Minister’s Department will establish and maintain a whole-of-government
panel of service providers capable of providing agencies with qualified investigators.
All providers on that Panel, as well as fulfilling all the requirements of the ACT
Procurement Policy and Guidelines, will:
•  possess formal qualifications at, at least, to the Certificate IV in Government
(Fraud investigation) level;
•  demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the ACT criminal justice system;
•  demonstrate an understanding of relevant legislative provisions, specifically the
requirements to treat employees and clients fairly and to respect their privacy; and
•  agree to meet the Investigation Standards as described in Section 7.5 below.
Unless there are specific needs that cannot be met by any of the providers on the
Panel, Agencies will select investigators from that Panel.
Before taking action to engage a provider from the Panel, Agencies are urged to
prepare an investigation plan, as described in the Model Chief Executive Instruction.
Upon completion of engagements from the Panel, Agencies will be requested to
maintain records on the performance of the provider. CMD will take steps to
reconstitute the Panel prior to the expiration of the specified term of the Panel as set
out in the services agreement between Panel providers and the Territory. Prior to any
extension of current service agreements or tender process for new Panel providers,
Agencies will be requested to provide assessments of providers used during the
previous service agreement period.
The information that will be requested will be based upon the following criteria:
•  capacity of the provider to keep within the parameters of the investigation plan;
•  if the case proceeded to prosecution, the brief of evidence meeting the
requirements of the DPP;
•  the overall outcome of the investigation process; and
•  rights of employees and the community being protected.
7.5.
Investigation standards
All investigations undertaken in the ACTPS should be conducted in accordance with
the investigation standards promulgated by CMD.
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Where the investigation is of a minor nature, Agencies may determine that parts of
the standards do not need to be applied.
7.6.
Recovery of Public Monies
If public money has been improperly obtained and it is likely that criminal
proceedings will occur, consideration should be given to action to recover that
money. It is possible that the Confiscation of Criminal Assets Act 2003 may apply.
The DPP should be consulted about any recovery action in such circumstances.
Agencies should also give consideration to instituting civil proceedings to recover
monies that have been improperly obtained. Any monetary or other losses that are
unable to be recovered by other means - for example reparation ordered by the court
in criminal cases, or direct recovery from the debtor - should be referred to the ACT
Government Solicitor’s Office (ACTGSO) for consideration of civil action to recover
the loss.
If ACT Government benefits are involved, and are ongoing, deductions should be
made from those payments.
7.7.
Model Litigant Guidelines
In the event that matters result in action before the courts, Agencies should note their
obligations under the ACT Model Litigant Guidelines.
8.  Reporting
For Agencies to deal effectively with threats to its integrity, it is essential that
breaches of internal integrity are recorded.
8.1.
Management information system
Section 20 of the PSM Standards requires that each Agency establish and maintain a
management information system that records:
1.  all instances of fraud and corruption;
2.  losses to the Agency or potential for damage to the reputation of the Department
or ACTPS as a whole;
3.  investigative action taken;
4.  disciplinary action taken or outcomes of matters which have been prosecuted; and
5.  any changes to procedures and practices arising from the incident.
Details of the information to be recorded, relating to points 1 to 4 above, are set down
in APPENDIX C.
That information is vital in tracking where problems are occurring and forms the
basis upon which the integrity risk assessment is undertaken.
The SERBIR is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the
management information system described above. As well, the SERBIR will be
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responsible for the recording of all reports and allegations of fraud or corruption as
soon as practicable.
The Agency SERBIR will also report regularly to the Audit Committee on the cases
that are being dealt with by the Agency. The Committee has responsibility for
ensuring as far as practicable, and from an independent perspective, that all reports
and allegations of fraud or corruption are properly dealt with by the Agency.
8.2.
Annual Reports
Certain information about the integrity program is required to be published in annual
reports, as set down in the Chief Minister’s Annual Reports Directions. The
information required is as follows:
•  Prevention
o  details of risk assessments conducted;
o  fraud and corruption prevention plans prepared (or revised);
o  other integrity strategies adopted;
o  integrity awareness training.
•  Detection
o  the total number of reports or allegations of fraud or corruption
received and investigated during the year.
•  Cases finalised – For cases of fraud and corruption where formal action has been
finalised during the course of the year under report:
o  if in the course of the investigation and adjudication process, a
quantification of the cost of the case has been made, that cost:
o  without revealing the personal identity of any of the parties,
descriptions of how each case was perpetrated;
o  the outcome of the investigation and adjudication process; and
o  remedial action that was taken as a result of the investigation and
adjudication process.
8.3.
Using Data for Strategic Planning
CMD will regularly convene meetings of SERBIRs. Once a year, a meeting will be
convened to commence the process of assembling a whole of government report on
fraud and corruption that will be submitted to Management Council.
A working group of SERBIRs, chaired by CMD will examine all the information
collected under Section 8.1 above, along with extracts from Agency risk assessments
relating to risks of fraud and corruption. On the basis of that analysis, the working
group will prepare a report that will:
•  assess any changes in the overall levels of fraud and corruption;
•  alert Management Council to emerging risks;
•  summarise whole of government efforts to combat fraud and corruption; and
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•  evaluate the overall effectiveness of the policy.
9.  External Service Providers
In some circumstances, the provision of services to the ACTPS is most appropriately
provided by the private sector. The Government Procurement Act 2001 and
Government Procurement Regulation 2007 set out the framework within which these
sorts of services are obtained. Within that framework, there are two elements of
particular relevance promulgated by the Government Procurement Board:
•  Risk Management Procurement Circular 2009/24; and
•  Probity and Ethical Behaviour Procurement Circular 2007/21.
Once the procurement for a service provider has been completed and the provision of
the service commences, that process falls within the ambit of this Policy.  Chief
Executives are responsible and accountable for the provision of these services in the
same way as the Chief Executive is responsible for services provided by public sector
employees.
Ongoing provision of services by external providers, are subject, as far as is
practicable, to the requirements of this Policy.
In addition to the requirements on the public service, Agencies should ensure that, in
relation to external service providers, the contractual arrangements include provision
for:
•  staff of the external service provider to meet the necessary security requirements of
the Agency;
•  the external service provider is made aware of the legislation, standards and
procedures relevant to this Policy;
•  the external service provider participates, in consultation with the agency, in an
ongoing processes of assessing integrity risks to the program and dealing with
those risks; and
•  procedures are in place to receive, record and investigate any allegations of fraud
and corruption involving the staff of the external service provider.
10.  Roles and functions of players
While every agency in the ACTPS plays a part in the integrity structure, only the
participants with whole-of-government responsibilities are described below.
APPENDIX F sets out the relationships between the participants with whole-of-
government responsibilities in a diagrammatic form.
10.1.  Audit Committee framework
In 2003, the Department of the Treasury promulgated a policy document entitled
Internal Audit Framework. Among other things, this document dealt with the
establishment of Agency Audit Committees that monitor and review the effectiveness
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of corporate governance mechanisms in Agencies. Audit Committees therefore play
an important role in assisting Agencies in establishing and maintaining integrity.
As a part of the audit function, Audit Committees are encouraged to review the
operation and management of risk within the Agency, this review should include an
assessment of the effectiveness of management’s oversight responsibilities in relation
to this promoting and maintaining integrity.
A description of the extended role and functions of Audit Committees with respect to
this Policy is at Appendix D to this policy.
10.2.  Senior Officer Responsible for Business Integrity Risk
Integrity is an issue of such high priority that in each agency an Executive should be
appointed to take responsibility for the implementation of the integrity strategies and
processes for the detection and investigation of fraud and corruption. These officers
are known as Senior Executive Responsible for Business Integrity Risk (SERBIR) -
Appointment and Role are detailed at APPENDIX E.
Chief Executives are required to provide details of all such appointments to the
Director, Public Sector Management Group within the Chief Minister’s Department.
10.3.  Australian Federal Police (AFP)
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is a Commonwealth authority established under
the Australian Federal Police Act 1979. It is the Australian Government’s primary
law enforcement agency. Under a purchase agreement with the ACT Government,
the AFP provides a range of policing services for the ACT. This includes crime and
safety management, traffic law enforcement and road safety, prosecution and judicial
support, and crime prevention. Within this framework, the AFP undertakes the
detection, investigation and prevention of fraud and corruption for ACT agencies,
including both internal and external fraud committed on Government programs.
Details of referring matters to the AFP are described in Section 7.3, including details
of the point of contact. The criteria for such referrals are described in APPENDIX B.
10.4.  Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has responsibility for the conduct of
prosecutions in the ACT and matters relating to the proceeds of crime.
The Office of the DPP is generally not involved in the actual investigation of criminal
offences. However, DPP officers are available to provide legal advice or policy
guidance in regard to the manner in which investigations are conducted. Specifically,
DPP officers are able to provide legal advice in relation to the sufficiency or
otherwise of evidence required to proceed with prosecution.
Advice may also be sought from the DPP as to whether or not alleged misconduct
constitutes a breach of law and if so, what course of action is most appropriate in the
public interest. Such advice is of benefit to managers who are faced with the
responsibility of deciding whether to proceed with disciplinary action or
alternatively, institute criminal proceedings.
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Once a matter has been referred to the DPP and a decision is being made as to
whether or not a prosecution should be launched and/or what charge or charges
should be laid, any views put forward by the agency concerned will be taken into
consideration.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has produced a booklet entitled ‘Prosecution
Policy and Guidelines in the Australian Capital Territory’ which details the general
criteria used during the consideration of prosecution action against an alleged
offender. The guide covers a range of issues including the prosecution of juveniles,
and is available from the office of the DPP upon request.
10.5.  Ombudsman
Under the Ombudsman's Act 1989 the Ombudsman may at any time, whether in
response to a complaint, Ministerial request, or at his or her own initiative,
investigate any aspect of an agency’s actions, practices or procedures. This may
include allegations of impropriety by an agency - or allegations about the way in
which allegations are themselves investigated internally by the agency.
Public interest disclosures
Under provisions of the PID Act, the Ombudsman may receive a public interest
disclosure from any person and exercise any of his or her investigative powers under
provisions of the Ombudsman’s Act 1989 to act on the matter.
Additionally, if in relation to a public interest disclosure received, if the Ombudsman
considers that:
•  there is no other authority that can adequately or properly act on a public interest
disclosure; or
•  any proper authority that should have acted on a public interest disclosure has
failed, or been unable for any reason, to adequately act on the disclosure;
the Ombudsman may then exercise his or her powers to act on the public interest
disclosure.
10.6.  Auditor-General
The Auditor-General and his or her Office carry out the duties which are set out in
the Auditor-General Act 1996, by undertaking audits of management performance
and the financial statements of public sector bodies. The aim is to improve public
sector management and accountability by firstly, ensuring the Legislative Assembly
and the community are provided with accurate and useful information about the
management of public sector resources and secondly, by providing independent
advice and recommendations for improving the management of public resources.
As part of their responsibilities, the Auditor-General is concerned to ensure that all
reports or allegations of fraud and corruption are properly examined and dealt with
by public sector bodies.
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10.7.  Commissioner for Public Administration
The Commissioner for Public Administration (the Commissioner) advises the Chief
Minister on matters affecting the ACTPS. Under section 20 of the PSM Act, the
Commissioner is responsible for:
•  advising the Chief Minister on the management of the ACTPS;
•  implementing administrative arrangements at the direction of the Chief Minister;
•  undertaking management reviews into the operation of Government agencies; and
•  maintaining core employment rules for the ACTPS through the PSM Standards.
The Commissioner may make Management Standards under Section 251 of the
PSM Act subject to the agreement of the Chief Minister.
10.8.  ACT Government Solicitor
The ACT Government Solicitor (ACTGSO) provides legal services to the Territory,
its Ministers, departments and agencies. Its responsibilities include the provision of
advice, and representation in all courts and tribunals of the ACT. However, the
ACTGSO does not handle criminal proceedings (which are the responsibility of the
DPP).
The ACTGSO is able to provide advice regarding the rights and responsibilities of
persons under any of the Acts referred to in this Policy.  As indicated in section 7.6
the ACTGSO can also assist with civil action to recover loss.
10.9.  Chief Minister's Department
As a part of its responsibility for exhibiting leadership in public sector reform, the
Chief Minister’s Department (CMD) has overall responsibility for this Policy,
maintaining all the supporting documentation for the policy and advising and
assisting SERBIRs with fulfilling their responsibilities under the Policy.
CMD will host meetings of SERBIRs every six months and that group will prepare
an ‘over the horizon’ report for Management Council based upon risk assessments
undertaken in each of the Agencies. These reports will alert the ACTPS to any
emerging trends in fraud and corruption that may need a whole-of-government
approach.
10.10.  Management Council
Management Council is a body made up of Chief Executives of portfolio
Departments and the Commissioner. Its function is to provide leadership for the
ACTPS, including major whole of government initiatives. This integrity policy is
one of those initiatives.
With regard to this Policy, Management Council will consider emerging trends in
breaches of integrity, including fraud and corruption, that may have whole of
government implications and make recommendations to CMD for any necessary
changes to the Policy
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11.  Training
Because integrity issues are crucial to so many dimensions of the ACTPS activities,
Agencies are urged to include reference to it in all training and development
activities. The responsibility for determining training needs and delivering the
training lies primarily with Agencies. However, Agencies are strongly urged to
arrange for all new starters with the Agency to undergo at least one-half day training
in this area as well as regular courses to refresh employees on the importance of
integrity.
Model training package
CMD will provide a template set of training materials designed primarily for new
starters. Agencies can augment the package with material specific to the agency.
The package contains:
•  a brief outline of the legislative structure supporting integrity (PSM Act, Financial
Management Act, PSM Standards and Public Interest Disclosure Act);
•  a description of the Integrity Policy and its intent;
•  a series of scenarios that highlight integrity issues to promote group discussion;
•  a training manual and Powerpoint presentation.
Fraud Prevention Competencies
The PSP99 training package includes the following competencies that relate closely
to this policy:
•  Certificate IV in Government (Fraud Control Investigation)
•  Certificate IV in Government (Fraud Control Prevention/Detection)
•  Diploma in Government (Fraud Control Investigation)
•  Diploma in Government (Fraud Control Prevention/Detection)
•  Advanced Diploma in Government (Fraud Control Management)
All investigators selected for the Panel described in Section 7.4 will be expected to
have reached the Certificate IV in Government (Fraud Control Investigation) as a
minimum standard.
Should any Agency determine that a staff member is likely to be involved in
investigating cases of fraud and corruption on a continuing basis, the Certificate IV in
Government (Fraud Control Investigation) is the minimum standard. A number of
training providers are available to provide training or Recognition of Prior Learning
in this course, including the Canberra Institute of Technology.
SERBIRs
CMD will arrange for occasional one and half-day seminars for SERBIRs to assist
them in meeting their responsibilities.
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12.  Evaluation of Policy
CMD will evaluate the effectiveness of this Policy every three years. The evaluation
will be undertaken in the light of the following information:
•  reports of reviews undertaken by the Auditor-General;
•  reports made by the Ombudsman;
•  the assessment of emerging risks of fraud and corruption as identified by the
biannual meetings of SERBIRs; and
•  information reported by Agencies in Annual Reports.
Any changes to the Policy undertaken as a result of that review will be made in
consultation with Management Council.
13.  Transitional
Agencies in APPENDIX A under the category ‘Other entities’ may choose to be
covered by the procedures of an administrative unit. If they so decide, there must be
a formal determination by the Chief Executive within 90 day of the commencement
of the this policy and this determination transmitted to the relevant Audit Committee
and Chief Minister’s Department.
13.1.  Model Chief Executive Financial Instructions
A major revision of CEFI 1.7 has been undertaken. Agencies are strongly urged to
adopt this CEFI. Agencies are encouraged to augment the CEFI with any agency-
specific instructions that may be considered useful. To ensure compliance with
Sections 31 and 54 of the Financial Management Act 1996, agencies will need to
address integrity and risk management issues in their Chief Executive’s Financial
Instructions. Agencies are encouraged to develop their policies based upon those
included (refer Section 1.7) in the Model Chief Executive’s Financial Instructions
produced by the Department of the Treasury.
13.2.  Integrity risk assessments and Fraud and Corruption Prevention
Plans
Agencies must undertake an integrity risk assessment and prepare a Fraud and
Corruption Prevention Plan every two years.
Agencies must consult with CMD before the completion of the first integrity risk
assessment and Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plans under this Policy. CMD will
provide an independent report on the documents to the Agency Audit Committee.
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14.  APPENDIX A: Coverage of Policy
Administrative Units
ACT Health
ACT Planning and Land Authority
Chief Minister’s Department
Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services
Department of Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water
Department of Education and Training
Department of Justice and Community Safety
Department of Land and Property Services
Department of the Treasury
Department of Territory and Municipal Services
Other entities
ACT Forests
ACT Gambling and Racing Commission
ACT Insurance Authority
ACT Workcover
ACTION Authority
Auditor-General
Agents Board
Australian International Hotel School
Canberra Cemeteries Trust
Canberra Institute of Technology
Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation
Cultural Facilities Corporation
Director of Public Prosecutions
Exhibition Park in Canberra
Healthpact
Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission
Land Development Agency
Legal Aid
Legislative Assembly Secretariat
Public Trustee for the ACT
Stadiums Authority
Territory Owned Corporations
ACTEW Corporation
ACTTAB
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15.  APPENDIX B: Case handling criteria

Suggested streaming of cases for investigation

Characteristic
Refer to the Australian
Use formally qualified
Handle in-house
of case
Federal Police
investigators

Complexity
Requires detailed
Requires detailed
Analysis of relevant
analysis of large amounts
analysis of evidence,
evidence straightforward
of evidence, both paper
both paper and computer
and computer based
based
Use of sophisticated
technology
Potential
High monetary loss
Medium monetary loss
Minor monetary loss
damage
Significant damage to
Significant damage to
Minor damage to the
the reputation of the
the reputation of the
reputation of the
ACTPS
organisation
organisation
Harm to the economy,
assets or environment of
the ACT
Impact upon broader
national law enforcement
issues (eg, organised
crime, money
laundering)
Nature of
Elements of criminal
Likely to involve action
Likely to be limited to
offence
conspiracy
before a court or tribunal
administrative action
Serious breach of trust
within the agency
by an ACT employee
Status of
Preliminary analysis
Preliminary analysis
Preliminary analysis
evidence
indicates strong
indicates possibility of
indicates strong
possibility of proof
proof to the level of
possibility of proof to the
beyond reasonable doubt
proof beyond reasonable
level of balance of
Falls within ACT DPP
doubt or balance of
probabilities
Prosecution policy
probabilities
Scope
Involves known or
More than one party
Isolated incident
suspected criminal
suspected of being
activities in a number of
involved in the case.
ACT agencies and/or
jurisdictions
Collusion between a
number of parties
Availability of
Evidence is required that
Evidence is required that
Evidence is required that
evidence
can only be obtained by
can be obtained within
can be obtained within
exercise of a search
the agency
the agency
warrant or surveillance

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16.  APPENDIX C: Recording information
Types of cases that are included in the recording requirement
What needs to be recorded is information about:
1.  all cases of fraud as defined in Section 1 of the policy;
2.  all cases of corruption as defined in Section 1 of the policy; and
3.  breaches of the disciplinary code as they relate to fraud and corruption, in
particular:-
•  breaches of requirements to act impartially and with probity (Sub-
paragraph 9 (a) and (b) of the PSM Act);
•  breaches of requirements to avoid or disclose conflicts of interest (Sub-
paragraph 9 (j) of the PSM Act);
•  taking improper advantage of position or information (Sub- paragraph 9
(k) and (l) of the PSM Act);
•  improper use of Territory property (Sub- paragraph 9 (o) of the PSM Act);
and
•  failure to report corrupt behaviour or maladministration (Sub- paragraph 9
(q) of the PSM Act).
There is no requirement under this policy to record an event where preliminary
analysis upon receipt indicates little possibility of proof to the level of balance of
probabilities (i.e. the allegation is prime facie vexatious or frivolous).
In considering the threshold of what needs to be recorded, the system should include
any matters where charges have been laid for a breach of those parts of Section 9 of
the PSM Act described above, or any matters that have been investigated with a view
to the prosecution of fraud or corruption.
Information to be recorded
Details of the information that is to be recorded is as follows:
1

Case information
1.  Total number of allegations of fraud and corruption
2.  Number of cases investigated by the agency
  a) Internally
  b) External service provider
  c) AFP
3.  Number of cases referred to the AFP and declined, including reasons
for the declination where provided by the AFP
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4.  Number of cases where the investigation was discontinued and reasons
as to why this occurred.
5.  Number of cases involving an offence by an external service provider
2

Outcome of cases
Number of cases:
1.  Referred to the DPP for prosecution (either directly or through the AFP)
•  Number of convictions (penalty to be recorded)
•  Number of acquittals
•  Number of briefs where insufficient evidence is available to mount a
prosecution
2.  Administrative remedy applied (e.g. disciplinary provisions)
•  administrative action taken (penalty to be recorded)
3.  Civil remedy applied (e.g. recovery of monies)
4.  No further action taken (a summary of reasons to be recorded)
3

Losses
1.  Financial
2.  Physical assets
3.  Information (brief description only)
4.  Disruption of service (brief description only)
5.  Damage to reputation of agency (brief description only)
4

Recoveries
1.  By criminal prosecution, including the Confiscation of Criminal Assets Act
2003
2.  By civil remedy
3.  By administrative remedy
5

Offenders
Number (not identity) of individuals considered to be responsible for fraud or
corruption that were:
1.  Employees of agency
2.  Contractors to the agency (please identify whether a) individual or b)
corporate)
3.  External to the agency (please identify whether a) individual or b) corporate)
6

Methods used by offenders
How many offenders (either individual or corporate) used the following methods:
1.  Unauthorised access to a computer
2.  Unauthorised access to a secure physical location
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3.  Falsification of documents
4.  Making false statements
5.  Bypassing controls to avoid a liability
6.  Using the Internet
7.  Using electronic transfer of funds
8.  Misrepresenting a person’s identity
9.  Misrepresenting a corporate entity’s identity
10. Other (brief description only)
7

Prevention and detection activity
1.  Number of staff provided with training in:
•  Ethics;
•  Fraud control; or
•  Corruption prevention
2.  Date of completion of current fraud and corruption prevention plan
3.  Proposed date of next fraud and corruption prevention plan
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17.  APPENDIX D: Role of Audit Committees
Monitor and advise the Governing Body on:
Integrity Risk Assessment
The Audit Committee is to be provided with copies of the Integrity Risk Assessment.
Should the Audit Committee consider it necessary, it will advise the Chief Executive3
of any alternative viewpoints regarding the Integrity Risk Assessment. The Audit
Committee may use the Integrity Risk Assessment as a basis for prioritisation of
internal audit activity.
Quality of Fraud & Corruption Prevention Plans
The Audit Committee is to be provided with copies of the Fraud and Corruption
Prevention Plan and proposed management strategies to address any areas of
unacceptable risk. The Audit Committee may independently advise the Chief
Minister should it have any concerns regarding the Fraud and Corruption Prevention
Plan and implementation of management strategies.
Handling of Fraud & Corruption cases
The Audit Committee is to be advised of all fraud and corruption cases. Handling
and management of these is the responsibility of the SERBIR.
Reviews of particular areas of the Agency’s activities
Where the Audit Committee:
•  considers that the Agency’s procedures and practices relating to an area which
impacts upon the integrity of the Agency are inadequate, and
•  in the view of the Audit Committee, the inadequacies have not been effectively
dealt with by the fraud and corruption prevention plan,
the Audit Committee is to undertake a review of those procedures and practices and
to report to the Chief Executive on steps necessary to remedy the shortcomings.
The Audit Committee may, after consultation with the Chief Executive, refer a matter
relating to a serious breach of integrity to the ACT Ombudsman if the Committee
reaches the view that neither investigative action nor internal administrative action is
likely to resolve the issue and if is not a matter referred to in Section 6 of the
Ombudsman Act 1989.

3 Some agencies may have a management structure not including a Chief Executive. In which case the
references to a Chief Executive should be read as including some other form of governing body.
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18.  APPENDIX E: Appointment and role of SERBIRs
Appointment
In accordance with section 21 of the PSM Standards, Chief Executives are required to
appoint a senior executive to take responsibility for all integrity issues within their
particular agency.
Chief Executives are required to provide details of all such appointments to the
Executive Director of the Public Sector Management Labour Policy Group within the
Chief Minister’s Department.
Role and functions
The principle role of the SERBIR is to regularly report to the Chief Executive, and/or
Board of Management as well as the Audit Committee on overall compliance with
the Integrity Policy.
One important function of the SERBIR is to be a ‘champion’ of integrity in the
Agency and to promote awareness and acceptance of this policy at every opportunity.
Dealing with allegations
•  Directly take reports of suspicious acts where employee not comfortable with
raising it with superior;
•  Assist managers in handling and recording reports of suspicious acts reported to
them;
•  Receive reports of suspicious acts from Managers that have been received from
employees;
•  Report to the Audit Committee on trends in reported suspicious acts and how they
have been handled;
•  Receive and deal with reports under the PID procedures; and
•  Refer worker’s compensation issues to Comcover
Reporting
Establishment and maintenance of the management information system as described
in Section 8.1 and Appendix C.
Investigations
•  Determine how allegations are going to be handled; stream cases to the AFP,
external investigators or internal handling
•  Refer cases to the AFP where required;
•  Determine whether investigators have necessary skills/experience;
•  Engage external investigators from panel;
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•  Draw up investigation plan;
•  Be the point of contact for AFP/external investigator; and
•  Receive investigation reports, summarise for Audit Committee;
•  Monitor the progress of all investigations.
•  At the completion of each investigation, undertake a high level quality assurance
review4, including an examination of the:
o  Protection of the rights of suspects, employees and the community;
o  Protection of evidence;
o  Adequacy of the outcome;
o  Compliance with investigation standards; and
o  Lessons learned from any failures of policies and procedures have been
remedied.
Integrity risk assessment and plan
•  Determine the appropriate methodology for the assessment of risks to integrity is
used;
•  Ensure that the risk assessment is conducted in accordance with the Risk
Management Standard;
•  Oversight that the Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan is fulfilling the
requirements laid down in the policy;
•  Monitoring implementation of the plan and report to Audit Committee;
•  Where the Fraud and Corruption Prevention Plan requires action by more than one
area or Department wide action, coordinate that action; and
•  Assess broad trends in integrity within Agency for report to Management Council
Awareness raising
Ensure that the policy is brought to the attention of staff of the agency through
training sessions or other media.


4 If the investigation was complex and involved external investigators, the SERBIR may wish to
consult with the AFP or engage an independent investigator from the panel of investigators described
in Section 7.4 of this policy.
ACTPS Integrity Policy

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