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FACT SHEET
INTEGRITY COMMISSION BILL 2009
The Bill implements the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee
on Ethical Conduct by establishing an Integrity Commission for
Tasmania.
The Commission and its functions add to rather than replacing existing
accountability mechanisms and entities such as parliamentary
committees and the Ombudsman and Auditor-General who will be ex
officio members of the board of the Commission.
The emphasis of the Integrity Commission will be on education and
advisory services to ensure that public sector institutions perform to the
highest ethical standards.
The Integrity Commission will also be able to handle complaints of
misconduct in public authorities which are defined broadly to include
Parliament, Ministers and their offices, Government departments,
businesses and companies, Tasmania Police and councils and council
owned companies.
A key feature of the Commission's operations will be the `triage' of
complaints. Once it has assessed a complaint the Commission can refer
it to another agency or process for investigation and action when that is
appropriate.
The Integrity Commission's own investigative work will largely focus on
systemic misconduct and on allegations against senior and high profile
public officers such as MPs, heads of agency and chief executive officers,
the Senior Executive Service, aldermen and councillors and statutory
office holders, and allegations of serious misconduct by senior police
officers.