Policy statement

DCJ requires contracted providers of human services to perform their duties in a fair and transparent way. The decisions your organisation and its personnel make in relation to the contracted services must not be affected by self-interest, private affiliations or the likelihood that they, or those close to them, will be unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged in any way – financially or otherwise.

A conflict of interest arises when there’s an actual, perceived or potential conflict between your organisation’s or any of your personnel’s private interests or duties and being able to fairly, objectively and independently perform your contractual obligations.

In the contract with us, you’ve agreed to:

• make enquiries in relation to any conflict of interest
• immediately notify us of a conflict of interest, making full disclosure of all information relevant to it
• manage, eliminate, resolve or otherwise deal with the conflict of interest to our satisfaction.

Failing to do so undermines the integrity of our relationship and is a breach of the obligations and responsibilities you’ve agreed with us. In addition, concealing or understating a conflict of interest may constitute corrupt conduct.

It’s essential that conflicts of interest are identified, disclosed and managed to our satisfaction to:

• make sure contracted services are provided effectively and suitably for DCJ clients
• ensure NSW Government contracts provide value for money
• prevent serious wrongdoing and misconduct
• maintain public trust in the NSW Government and its administration.

While perceived conflicts of interest may not actually affect provision of the services or whether there's value for money, they often decrease public confidence in the proper administration of those services and lead to reputational harm for both our organisations.

Conflicts of interest should be avoided. However, the nature of the sector and our contracted service providers’ organisations, as well as where they’re located and the services they provide, means we expect there may be conflicts of interest. The important thing is to identify and disclose them so that effective management strategies can be implemented.

However, there may be occasions where DCJ determines that a conflict of interest can’t be managed effectively and declines to accept it.

In addition, we expect your organisation to establish, maintain, enforce and continually improve a policy and procedure to manage conflicts of interest. This includes complying with the requirements of relevant Commonwealth and NSW legislation and policies, as well as the provisions of the contract with us, in relation to conflicts of interest.

You must also ensure your personnel, which includes the governing body and your subcontractors, are aware of their obligations for identifying, disclosing and managing conflicts of interest, and are aware of the resources available to assist you.

If your organisation detects a conflict of interest in relation to the governance, financial management, service delivery or performance of the contract with us, you’re required to notify DCJ and work with us until either the conflict is eliminated, a management strategy is agreed, or it’s otherwise dealt with.

You must take all reasonable steps to comply with this policy. Identifying, disclosing and managing conflicts of interest is essential to ensuring that together we retain the trust of the people of NSW.