Office of the ICAC

1. Office of the ICAC Public information session Commissioner Ken Fleming QC

2. NTG Procurement Framework

3. NTG Procurement Framework

4. ICAC Vision: Reporting: Develop a culture of reporting in NT public administration and the broader community. Awareness: Engage with the community and public sector to build awareness of corruption and its harms. Investigating: Investigate information that, if true, would tend to show that improper conduct has occurred, is occurring or is at risk of occurring. • Alerting: • Evaluate broader public sector trends and issues, identify serious misconduct and corruption risks and provide intelligence products to NT public bodies. To foster public institutions that actively resist corruption by putting public interest first,and providing transparency and certainty in the provision of service to all Territorians. Engage with Territorians to raise awareness and understanding of corruption. Engage with senior leaders and decision makers in the public service. Engage with public bodies to keep corruption prevention high on their agenda. Build the ability of public bodies to encourage and manage reporting and protect those who make reports. Develop advocates within public administration who actively support a proactive culture of reporting and corruption prevention. Use the powers of the ICAC to investigate improper conduct and take action, which may include recommending criminal proceedings, referring matters to another entity for disciplinary or other action, making recommendations to government or the publishing of reports. Increase agencies’ understanding of corruption risks and their ability to manage those risks. Develop intelligence-based products to prevent or reduce the risk of improper conduct. Collaborate with public bodies to share best practice and lessons learnt.

5. What we can investigate Section 9 (1) Reports made to the ICAC must fall within the definitions of improper conduct. Improper conduct includes: corrupt conduct; misconduct; unsatisfactory conduct; anti-democratic conduct; conduct constituting an offence under the ICAC Act; and, secondary conduct in relation to conduct mentioned in (a) through (e) above. Secondary conduct is conduct that would constitute an offence against sections of the Criminal Code on the assumption that the primary conduct is an offence, whether or not the primary conduct is in fact an offence.

6. Corrupt conduct Section 10(1) and (2) Conduct engaged in by a public officer or by a public body: that constitutes an offence for which the maximum penalty is imprisonment for a term of at least two years; and is connected to public affairs; that constitutes reasonable grounds for dismissing or terminating the services of a public officer; that is connected to public affairs, and involves any of the following: dishonesty; failure to manage adequately an actual or perceived conflict of interest; a breach of public trust; the illegal, unauthorised or otherwise inappropriate performance of official functions; inappropriate conduct in relation to official information; an adverse effect on the honest, impartial or effective performance of official functions by any public officer or public body or group of public officers or bodies.

7. Corrupt conduct (cont.) ICAC Act Section 10 (4) Conduct is also corrupt conduct if it is conduct engaged in by a person (whether or not a public officer or public body) that could impair public confidence in public administration and that involves any of the following: collusive tendering; intentionally or recklessly providing false or misleading information in relation to an application for a licence, permit or other authority under legislation designed to: promote or protect health and safety, public health, the environment or the amenity of an area; or facilitate the management and commercial exploitation of resources; misappropriating or misusing public resources; assisting in, or dishonestly benefitting from, the misappropriation or misuse of public resources; dishonestly obtaining or retaining employment or appointment as a public officer.

8. Misconduct Section 11 Conduct engaged in by a public officer or by a public body: that constitutes an offence for which the maximum penalty is a fine, or imprisonment for a term of less than two years, that is connected to public affairs; or that constitutes reasonable grounds for taking disciplinary action against the officer (short of dismissal or termination of appointment); or that is engaged in by a public body, judicial officer, a minister, an MLA or a local councillor that is connected to public affairs and involves a breach of public trust (for a judicial officer or the Director of Public Prosecutions) or a breach of public trust not amounting to a serious breach of public trust (for a public body, minister, MLA or councillor).

9. Unsatisfactory conduct Section 12 Conduct engaged in by a public officer or by a public body: that involves illegality, impropriety, negligence or incompetence; or, that is connected to public; and which results in: substantial mismanagement of public resources; or the inappropriate or significantly ineffective use of public resources; or substantial mismanagement in relation to the performance of official functions; or substantial detriment to the public interest. Incompetence is conduct that would not be engaged in by a reasonable public officer of public body: having the skills and knowledge reasonably expected of a person or body with the role of the public officer or public body; and having taken appropriate steps to obtain adequate resources, information and advice.

10. Who we can investigate The definition of a public body is very broad and includes: an agency; a local government council; the police force; a court; a board, commission, tribunal or other body established under an Act that has judicial or quasi-judicial functions in the performance of its deliberative functions; a body, whether incorporated or not, established under an Act; a body whose members, or a majority of whose members, are appointed by the Administrator or a minister; a government owned corporation; a nursing home; a public hospital; a university; any other body, whether incorporated or not: that receives, directly or indirectly, public resources; or performing a public function on behalf of the Territory, a public body or a public officer (whether under contract or otherwise).

11. Who we can investigate (cont.) A public body includes any body (whether incorporated or not) which receives public resources. ‘Public resources’ are defined as: money, assets and infrastructure of the Territory or a public body; or intellectual property of, and licences held by, the Territory or a public body; or human resources of the Territory or a public body or public officer; or any other resources of, or available to, the Territory or a public body or public officer, including resources held under trust.

12. Public officers and mandatory reporting Public officers and public bodies are subject to mandatory reporting guidelines and must report improper conduct to the Office of the ICAC. You are a public officer if you are: a minister; a Member of the Legislative Assembly; a judicial officer; the holder of an office established under an Act who is appointed by the Administrator or a minister; a member, officer or employee of a public body (including a government agency); any other person engaged, whether under the Contracts Act or otherwise, by or on behalf of the persons mentioned. Failure to report improper conduct may have consequences for you and a public body.

13. Whistleblower protections Whistleblower protections are in place for those who report to the ICAC: public bodies (including government agencies) must provide protection and support to protected persons; the ICAC provides guidance on how public bodies fulfil their protection responsibilities; a public body will face consequences if they fail to fulfil protection responsibilities; and, wherever possible, the identity of a protected person should be kept confidential. The ICAC has issued Whistleblower Protection Guidelines and Directions on the www.icac.nt.gov.au website.

14. Protected Communications A person has a right to make a voluntary protected communication about improper conduct. That communication becomes a protected communication if it meets certain criteria under the ICAC Act, and the person can become a protected person. The ICAC issues directions and guidelines for dealing with voluntary protected communications. These are made available through the ICAC website www.icac.nt.gov.au. It is an offence to engage in retaliation against a protected person. If an employee of a public body engages in retaliation in the course of employment, both the employee and the public body are liable for the retaliation.

15. The role of a public body Public bodies have the primary responsibility for providing protected persons with protection and support. A public body must take all reasonable steps to prevent against retaliation. Wherever possible, the identity of a protected person should be kept confidential, as anonymity is the best protection of a person from retaliation.

16. Contact us Telephone: 1800 250 918 (Freecall) Street Address: Level 9, 9-11 Cavenagh St, Darwin, NT, 0801 Postal Address: GPO Box 3750, Darwin, NT, 0801 General email: icac.nt@icac.nt.gov.au Website: www.icac.nt.gov.au Follow us on LinkedIn