The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission was in Ballarat on Thursday, with a forum delivering “integrity insights” to public sector managers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Over recent years IBAC has been involved in several high-profile cases in Ballarat, including an investigation of Ballarat council recreation manager Lukas Carey that resulted in a three year jail term this year for defrauding the council of $184,123.
But Chief executive Alistair MacLean stressed yesterday’s event had nothing to do with those investigations, but was rather part of a twice-annual visit to regional areas, for people to share ideas and understand the organisation’s role.
“IBAC has two basic functions, one’s to identify and expose, which is mostly around investigations, but the other one is around prevention and education, and that’s what today’s been about,” he said.
“It’s not just about heads on sticks - that in itself is educational and a form of prevention - but it’s not the only answer.”
Among the presenters were Victoria’s deputy ombudsman, the chief municipal inspector from the Local Government Inspectorate, and IBAC’s strategic intelligence manager.
Organisations should focus on building a culture of transparency, Mr MacLean said, which includes councils making decisions in public.
“It goes to basics - you’re on the public purse, you need to act and make decisions in a way that generates community confidence in the expenditure of that money,” he said.
Incorporating checks into daily work would also decrease the risk of corruption.
Mr MacLean said organisations could emulate worksites which hold regular safety briefings, and said things like checking invoices, or reviewing the organisation’s code of conduct during annual performance reviews, were basic ways of improving accountability.
“Organisations have taken the opportunity of that annual review of performance,” he said.
“(It’s) understanding what the code of conduct means for you and role as an employee of this organisation.
“Another example is, can you show us you’ve got a valid driver’s licence once a year, because it mitigates the risk.
“Build those sorts of checks and audits into the regular running of the organisation, it doesn’t have to be an additional impost.”
Organisations should particularly be wary around procurement fraud, he added.
“A typical red flag might be around invoicing practices, how they receive and pay them,” he said.
“If there’s two invoices for the year from this one company and they’ve got consecutive numbers on them, is that the only source of income for this company, and they only invoice twice a year?
“It’s remarkable how unsophisticated a lot of it is.”
In regional areas, organisations had to be cautious around conflicts of interest, as the lower population and greater provision of services could lead to conflicts emerging more often.
“It’s how that conflict is declared and managed, so that perceived or actual conflict is dealt with in a way that makes it clear that the decision is not potentially or actually corrupted by that conflict,” he explained.
“We’re seeing a lot of variability in the way that conflicts are managed - some councils manage them well, some less well, and it’s not just councils, it’s water boards or health services as well.”
In future, data analytics will play a larger part in uncovering corruption
“We’re trying to look forward from a prevention point of view,” he said, noting the current practice was resource intensive and can take years to reach a conclusion.
Mr MacLean remains optimistic, however.
“(We have an) ethos of talking softly and carrying a big stick, and letting the results speak for themselves,” he said.
“On the one hand it’s quite a conservative approach, but I think it’s actually quite effective.”
Previously, IBAC successfully prosecuted a former City of Ballarat officer who defrauded the council of almost $200,000 between 2013 and 2015, resulting in a three-year jail sentence.
