Corruption risks in public sector contract management

Published 27 March 2026

In late 2025, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) sought insights from South Australian public sector employees and contractors to better understand contract management practices and identify areas where integrity risks may arise.

As part of this project, ICAC conducted two surveys.

The first was disseminated to contractors and subcontractors who provide services, goods or construction work to public sector agencies.

Public sector employees with contract management responsibilities participated in a second survey.

The findings indicated that while many agencies demonstrate strong commitment to ethical procurement, there remain opportunities to strengthen contract monitoring, documentation, and conflict of interest management practices.

A full report is now being compiled, including practical recommendations to help agencies strengthen governance frameworks and improve risk controls. It will be tabled in the Parliament of South Australia and published to this website later this year.

Read the interim report

Corruption risks in public sector contract management – 2025 Survey Report (PDF, 1000KB)

Related documents

Contract Management Survey – Findings Snapshot (PDF, 345KB)

Contract management survey findings include:

Contract management cycle

Post-tender negotiations and contract administration are perceived to be the most vulnerable stages of the contract management cycle.

Undisclosed or unmanaged conflicts of interests

More than one in four participants believe that contracts are highly or extremely vulnerable to unmanaged conflicts of interests.

Subcontracting

Approximately a third of contractors and subcontractors (35.3%) perceive that contracts are vulnerable to head contractors not paying subcontractors in full and/or on time.

Poor contractor performance

Public sector employees consider failure to address poor contractor performance to be a prominent integrity risk.