"Crime and corruption prosper when individuals put their private interests before the public interest. It’s that simple. The Crime and Corruption Commission’s (CCC) work in the last few years has unfortunately demonstrated that the threat of corruption remains. Whilst it manifests in new ways, we all need to work together to identify and extinguish it.
"Building strong cultures of integrity is the single most significant action our public sector leaders at all levels can take to address corruption."
Alan MacSporran QC
CCC Chairperson
The Prevention in focus series draws on CCC investigations to highlight specific prevention lessons for the Queensland public sector.
On 31 May 2019, a former Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Inspector received a prison sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of official corruption. This publication highlights that procurement fraud and conflicts of interest continue to be major corruption risk areas for the public sector.
On 1 March 2019, a new definition of corrupt conduct came into effect, broadening the CCC’s corruption jurisdiction. The legislation now recognises that people outside the public sector can adversely influence or corrupt public sector processes, damaging public confidence in government administration. Using recent case studies, the publication highlights the CCC’s broader jurisdiction and the types of external influences that could subvert public sector operations.
Misuse of confidential information is an area of focus for the CCC. In February 2018, we released our first Prevention in Focus paper on improper access to databases. This is the second publication on the topic and highlights that disciplinary and criminal sanctions may be imposed on public sector officers who don’t follow the rules.
This publication draws on CCC case studies to illustrate when and why consideration should be given to prosecution and/or disciplinary action in cases of serious improper conduct.
Body worn cameras are increasingly being used by a number of public agencies, primarily the Queensland Police Service. This paper draws on CCC complaints data and case studies to raise awareness of how these devices can be useful in resolving complaints.
The Queensland Government is currently spending over $1.38 billion on ICT projects across its departments. It is therefore timely for the CCC to remind the public sector about the corruption risks associated with this type of high-cost procurement activity.
Using case studies and scenarios, this publication seeks to raise awareness among public sector agency staff and managers of the issues and, in some cases, allegations that can arise from a conflict of interest that is not properly identified, documented, managed and monitored.
This document seeks to make police more aware of their duties as police officers and the serious consequences they may face if they ignore their obligations to the service and to the public.
This document seeks to help managers, members of selection panels and HR staff in public agencies to be more aware of the dangers of recruiting or promoting people who pose corruption risks, particularly into high-risk positions, and how to use effective vetting processes to minimise those risks.
This document describes the risks to public agencies and their staff of incidents of improper access to private information. As well as including a case study, it identifies particular areas of vulnerability and measures to address them.
This document describes the risks to universities and other publicly funded organisations of fraud or attempted fraud in relation to research results and grant applications. As well as including a case study, it identifies particular areas of vulnerability and measures to address them.
