A new research report released by the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) in September 2021 alerts Victorian government departments and community service organisations (CSOs) to key corruption risks. The report, titled ‘Corruption risks associated with government funded human services delivered by community service organisations’, outlines the key corruption risks, and recommended prevention strategies to help mitigate them within CSOs.
Community service organisations play a critical role in delivering a range of welfare and social services to support individuals, families and communities. Given the considerable public funds that support the delivery of many of these services, IBAC has undertaken research into the corruption risks that could affect CSOs’ delivery of human services.
The key corruption risks per the report include:
- A lack of awareness of enduring corruption risks;
- Vulnerabilities in how departments and CSO boards oversight the delivery of government funded services by CSOs;
- False or inaccurate reporting practices due to limited reporting systems;
- Misuse of sensitive information;
- Overlap or duplication of regulatory activity, and
- Lack of capabilities and resources in CSOs’ governance and corruption prevention frameworks.
The prevention measures recommended by the report include:
- Strong conflict of interest frameworks;
- Information security management;
- Training on the identification and reporting of corruption risks;
- Strengthened procurement practices;
- Develop profiles to assess and manage corruption risks, and
- Proactive governance, auditing and corruption prevention strategies that identify potential corrupt behaviour.
A number of these prevention matters may be implemented or assisted with the help of Probity and Procurement Advisors, who have expert skills in these areas. Our firm provides services in Probity and Procurement, offering a full range of probity practitioner services, including Probity Auditing, Probity Advising and Probity mentoring. In particular we have significant experience and expertise in relation to conflict of interest frameworks and advice.
For more information on the IBAC report, please visit their website here.
For my information on our services, or to contact us, please visit our website here.