This is an interactive workshop for public sector managers, supervisors and those who may conduct internal inquiries into allegations of misconduct. The workshop aims to reduce complex legal issues into understandable and useful advice. This in turn will enhance the capacity of participants, and of their organisations to: understand the inquiry process; conduct an internal inquiry with integrity in a professional manner; and minimise potential challenges arising from inadequate processes and procedures.

Workshop presenters:
Jay Lawrence
Senior Lawyer, Independent Commission Against Corruption
Stephen Osborne
Chief Investigator (Operations Advisor), Independent Commission Against Corruption

This workshop is designed to help public sector managers and supervisors at all levels to understand, navigate and balance the challenges posed by organisational requirements and the responsibilities of the individual in managing conflict of interest. In particular, the workshop will look at the unique and faceted role of managers in working within their organisational imperatives to help establish and maintain a useful framework for conflict of interest management, monitoring staff conflicts of interest, understanding conflicts inherent in the managerial role, and managing personal conflicts of interest.

Workshop presenters:
Narelle George
Advisor, Misconduct Prevention, Crime and Misconduct Commission
Sally Farnham
Senior Consultant, Corruption Prevention, Education and Research, Corruption and Crime Commission
Lewis Rangott
Senior Corruption Prevention Officer, Independent Commission Against Corruption

This workshop is designed to help public sector managers identify the risks of corruption / misconduct in their working context and to develop appropriate proactive strategies to manage the risks to integrity in the workplace. The workshop is particularly suited to middle and senior supervisors or managers in all areas of the public sector, including those with strategic, governance and compliance responsibilities. Participants will gain an understanding and capacity to contribute to better corporate governance, accountability and transparency, and enhanced corporate culture.

Workshop presenters:
John Boyd
Principal Project Officer, Prevention, Crime and Misconduct Commission
Tina Davies
Senior Consultant, Corruption Prevention, Education and Research, Corruption and Crime Commission
Margaret Ludlow
Senior Project Officer, Training and Development, Independent Commission Against Corruption

Reporting public interest wrongdoing, or ‘whistleblowing’, is vital to the integrity of public sector organisations. This workshop is recommended for managers, senior executive staff and those responsible for coordinating the management of protected or public interest disclosures. The workshop is designed to help participants build on their current organisational systems and arrangements to: improve the way they manage, support and protect public sector employees who disclose wrongdoing; ensure that such disclosures are properly dealt with; and thus help create a positive reporting environment to encourage disclosures.

Workshop presenters:
Dr A J Brown
Professor of Public Law, Griffith Law School, Griffith University
Jane Olsen
Research Officer, Crime and Misconduct Commission
Donna Oxley
Principal Consultant, Corruption Prevention, Education & Research, Corruption and Crime Commission

This workshop is designed to improve the capacity of participants to respond to the risk of fraud and corruption. The workshop will give an overview of fraud and corruption and their impact on operational performance, and look at the recognition of fraud and corruption risk. Participants will build on their knowledge to: develop an integrated and strategic approach to fraud and corruption control; and implement measures designed to improve fraud and corruption resistance. While intended primarily for line management, the program would also benefit anyone who wants a better understanding of fraud and corruption control.

Workshop presenters:
Ray Bange
Principal, Probity Consultants International
Bradley Morgan
Manager, Professional Standards, Australian Crime Commission

The aim of this workshop is to help public officers and their agencies to: make fair and lawful decisions about matters that affect the community and individuals; contribute to better corporate governance, accountability and transparency; promote good customer relations and positive community perceptions of the role and performance of their agency and government; avoid common pitfalls in decision making and avoid unnecessary complaints. This workshop has been jointly developed by the Ombudsman Offices of Qld, NSW and WA, for public sector decision-makers at all levels.

Workshop presenters:
Peter Cantwell
Assistant Ombudsman, Administrative Improvement Unit, Office of the Queensland Ombudsman
Sarah Cowie
Director, Research and Projects, Ombudsman Western Australia
Chris Wheeler
Deputy Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman

This workshop is designed for public officials who have an interest in, or the responsibility for ensuring, the effective take-up of ethical practice within their organisation. Participants will look at an holistic and sustainable approach to integrating ethical practice into the organisational culture; challenges faced in embedding organisational values and ethical principles into everyday behaviours; and mistakes often made in trying to achieve staff buy-in. The workshop will also provide hands-on development of strategies, tools and tips to help promote ethical practice, and how to tailor these to the organisation’s particular focus, activities and legislative requirements.

Workshop presenters:
Narelle George
Adviser, Misconduct Prevention, Crime and Misconduct Commission
Kelly-Ann Reardon
Education and Training Adviser, Crime and Misconduct Commission
Alan Barrett
Principal Policy Officer, Accountability Support Unit, Public Sector Commission

This workshop is for middle and senior administrators in public sector health services including central agencies, regional administration and health delivery services such as hospitals. The workshop is designed to help health services identify and treat the risks of corruption and misconduct in their working context, as well as understand effective management responses to situations that carry risks of corruption or misconduct. This session will be particularly useful for those managers with strategic, governance and compliance responsibilities, such as senior executives and directors of internal audit or human resources functions.

Workshop presenters:
Alexandra Mills
Principal Officer, Public Sector, Corruption Prevention, Education and Research, Independent Commission Against Corruption
Vicki Klum
Senior Corruption Prevention Officer, Corruption Prevention, Education and Research, Independent Commission Against Corruption

Most public sector agencies do not have a plan to cope with a significant and public investigation of them or their staff, despite the fact that investigation by external oversight bodies (or an internal investigation monitored by an external oversight body) has become a fact of life for the public sector. This workshop gives guidance on optimising positive outcomes and mitigating negative impacts of such investigations. It will benefit all public sector managers and senior managers by helping them to effectively manage internal and external communication during an investigation and to maintain staff morale, workplace productivity and public confidence. The workshop is also relevant to leaders of investigation teams who conduct external oversight investigations, as it will help them to optimise positive investigative outcomes, including minimising agency uncertainty and adverse experiences for witnesses and motivating an agency to contribute to and implement recommended reform.

Workshop presenters:
Yvonne Miles
Manager, Education and Training, Independent Commission Against Corruption
Roger Watson
Director — Designate, Corruption Prevention, Education and Research, Corruption and Crime Commission

This workshop builds on participants’ own professional experience to show how these skills can be learned, assessed, and managed. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants should be more confident in their ability to identify and deal with ethics-related cases effectively, using a number of tools presented. They should also be better able to explain to others the various justifications for their organisation’s particular standards and requirements in relation to a range of specific ethics and integrity matters.

Workshop presenter:
Howard Whitton
Founding Director, Independent Integrity System, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Consultant, Ethicos Group