The Commission is best known for its corruption investigations – but investigations are only one aspect of the Commission’s work. The Commission also undertakes evaluations, produces education programs and resources, prepares reports for the Parliament, and makes recommendations to agencies to assist in the prevention of corruption.

The Commission has joined We’re Equal, an initiative by the Equal Opportunities Commissioner.

We're Equal promotes a vision for South Australia as a state that not only celebrates diversity, but upholds the highest standards of integrity in all its interactions.

The integrity framework in South Australia is made up of various integrity agencies which are interconnected but have distinct functions. It is important that South Australians – particularly public officers – understand how these agencies fit together and the specific roles they play in ensuring integrity in public administration.

All public authorities should be in a position to receive complaints about the conduct of their staff. Inevitably, some of those complaints will lack merit. But that does not mean the complaint was vexatious or that it should not have been made.

As the principal mechanism for the detection and exposure of past and present corrupt conduct, whistleblowers are of critical importance to the minimization and prevention of future corrupt conduct.

Understanding the concepts of corruption, misconduct, maladministration and integrity.

In Buy Now, Lie Later, the Commission reported on an investigation of two public officers who had allegedly misused credit cards issued by their department.

This year, Australia will have a National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), after legislation passed both houses of the Australian Parliament in December 2022. The NACC will investigate and prevent corruption in the commonwealth public sector.

Our most valuable work lies in helping agencies to strengthen their ability to detect and prevent corruption. We do this in a number of ways.

In November 2022, the Commissioner published Integrity State, a report highlighting 15 corruption prevention initiatives arising from investigations over the past year.

Over 7,000 public officers responded to the Commission’s Public Integrity Survey 2021.

In April 2021, the Commission finalised a corruption investigation into a Registered Training Organisation’s manipulation of its contract with the then Department for Innovation and Skills.

Public sector boards and committees require strong and sound supervision to ensure that any conflicts of interest are identified, declared and managed.

The Commission’s report Failing the Corruption Road Test discusses allegations in relation to the conduct of authorised examiners appointed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.

Activities of the Commission aim to have a positive impact on the integrity of public administration. To that end, the Commission regularly engages with public authorities about things learned in the course of the Commission exercising its functions.

What has changed as a result of the 2021 amendments made to the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012?

Over the last two decades, there has been a significant shift in the general nature and purpose of public administration. Organisations are often now configured in more flexible, distributed and ‘entrepreneurial’ ways. This can bring benefits but can also come with deficits in supervision, transparency and accountability.

The Commission is perhaps best known for investigating corruption in public administration. However, it also plays a key role in preventing or minimising corruption in public administration. One means of achieving this is by evaluating a public authority’s practices, policies and procedures.

An update from Commissioner Vanstone about the 2021 changes to South Australia's integrity scheme.

What are my reporting obligations as a result of the 2021 changes to the ICAC Act?

Conflicts of interests are possibly the most misunderstood concept in public administration. Too many public officers do not know what they are, do not know when they have one and if they do, they rarely know what to do about it.

Instances of timesheet and leave fraud are regularly encountered by the nation’s integrity agencies.

In June 2021, the former Deputy Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Mr Michael Riches, completed his evaluation of the practices, policies and procedures of the Department for Correctional Services.

Updates from the Commission – 16 August 2021

A reasonable accommodation between oversight and independence.