The Public Sector Commission (PSC) has published a range of resources to help Western Australian Public Authorities play a role in preventing misconduct and corruption.
Choosing this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day (9 December) to announce its plans, the PSC released integrity framework resources for all Public Authorities as part of its Integrity Strategy for Public Authorities 2020-2023, which aim to help them develop their integrity framework or evaluate and strengthen an existing framework.
In a statement, the PSC said a well-embedded framework helped Authorities in many ways, including managing identified integrity risks, promoting integrity, preventing misconduct and corruption, and informing stakeholders about their approach to integrity.
“As part of the Commissioner’s continued focus on strengthening integrity, Public Sector bodies under the Public Sector Management Act 1994 will be required to have a framework in place by June 2023,” the Commission said.
“Integrity is an absolute non-negotiable in the WA Government sector and continued vigilance is essential,” it said.
The PSC said a comprehensive, well-coordinated and implemented framework helped an Authority manage identified integrity risks; prevent misconduct and corruption; develop a culture built on integrity; and have leadership oversight.
It said a framework would also result in the building of robust planning, performance, monitoring and review processes, while continuously improving its approach to integrity and informing stakeholders, including integrity bodies, about its approach to integrity.
“While the Authority head is accountable for the framework, all officers are responsible for helping to prevent misconduct and corruption in their Authority,” the Commission said.
“The underlying assumption is that the effectiveness of integrity management depends as much on the synergies between the instruments as on the effects of the individual instruments separately.”
It said an ethics code by itself would not have much impact; an integrity training session would not really make a difference; and one inspection would probably not leave a lasting impression.
“It is the combination of such measures that will have a significant effect, a joint effect that is much larger than the mere sum of the effects of the individual instruments,” the PSC said.
The Commission’s Integrity Framework Guide can be accessed at this PS News link and its Integrity Framework Template at this link.
