Ethical Conduct Framework

Council has an ethical conduct investigation function, led by Council’s Public Officer under the direction of the General Manager. This function investigates serious complaints relating to Council staff and services, as well as public interest disclosures made under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994.

Under the framework the General Manager or Lord Mayor can direct the Public Officer or a Director of Council to investigate serious complaints relating to the following:

Public interest disclosures
Serious maladministration and corruption
Child protection matters
Serious sexual harassment matters (managed in conjunction with People and Culture Division)
Referrals from NSW Ombudsman, NSW ICAC or other oversight agencies
Investigations, probity and ethics reviews authorised by the General Manager
Complaints against Directors, Councillors and the General Manager.

Not every complaint requires formal investigation by the Public Officer. The majority of concerns raised by customers will be able to be resolved through normal complaints management practices. In determining whether a complaint requires investigation the General Manager will consider a range of factors:

Are the issues raised by the complaint serious?
Is the complaint trivial or vexatious?
Does the complaint involve an allegation of child abuse or risks to child safety and welfare?
Is there a more appropriate mechanism for dealing with the complaint?
What significance does the complaint have for Council?
Does the complaint indicate the existence of a systemic problem or a serious abuse of power?
What are the monetary amounts or other benefits involved?
How many staff are alleged to be involved?

When a serious ethical conduct complaint is received, it is first assessed by the Public Officer to determine if it falls within the scope of matters that may warrant investigation.

The Public Officer may:

Refer the matter to Council’s General Manager to approve the commencement of an investigation.
Refer the issue to another section of Council for action if it is of a less serious nature. The Public Officer will advise the complainant that this has occurred.
Recommend to the General Manager an alternate course of action.

Members of the community, Council staff or Councillors can make a complaint an ethical conduct complaint.

To make a complaint about suspected unethical, fraudulent or corrupt behaviour, email the Public Officer, providing details of the complaint.

Alternatively, you can also report serious corruption issues directly to ICAC, or serious maladministration issues to the NSW Ombudsman.