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VicRoads tops IBAC agencies corruption allegations list

Watchdog says exposure to public may help explain why roads authority rates so high

 

Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has released figures showing the most allegations against state government agencies relate to the state’s roads authority, VicRoads, by a long shot.

The report, Corruption risks associated with public regulatory authorities, related to the period February 2013, when IBAC became fully operational, to last December 31.

IBAC explains that it receives ‘complaints’ from the public and ‘notifications’ from public sector agencies.  

A complaint/notification may include multiple allegations, all of which are individually assessed.

IBAC notes there are limitations with the use of these examples, including that the allegations:

  • are unsubstantiated at the time of receipt
  • can be incomplete, lack detail, from an anonymous source or may not individually name the subject of the allegation
  • data is not a comprehensive or reliable indicator of the actual prevalence of particular activities, or the risk mitigation practices and compliance activities already in place.

Be that as it may, of the top five, there were 75 complaints/notifications against VicRoads, with the next worst, WorkSafe, at 44, and the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) at 33.


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“Allegations made against these five regulators included receiving financial bribes for licences, failure to issue licences in line with legislation, collusion to prevent compensation, and covering up inappropriate conduct,” the report states.

“As stated previously, these figures relate to allegations and are not findings of corrupt conduct.

“It should be noted these regulators all have high interaction rates with the public which may make them more likely to be the subject of complaints.

“Nevertheless, analysis of allegations can highlight corruption risks or aspects of a regulator’s work that might create public perceptions of corruption.

“Most regulators have access to sensitive personal or commercial information about their clients.

“Many allegations to IBAC related to misuse of information or information mismanagement, which is concerning given the sensitive information often held.”

VicRoads also leads total allegations for the period with 179, followed by VBA (107) and WorkSafe (102), with metropolitan and country fire authorities next at 55 and 50 and the rest of the 25 listed below 40, 11 of which were in single figures.

Despite the high numbers, the report notes contributing factors that may be at work.

“VicRoads is subject to a high number of complaints regarding licensing and registration, however not all of those are related to bribery,” IBAC states.

“This high number of complaints may be attributable, in part, to the large number of transactions and the population it serves.

“It may also reflect factors related to its licensing processes, including junior staff performing licensing functions (often with personal discretion), and the fact that VicRoads directly receives an income from its regulatory activities.”

IBAC says a wider report, Corruption and misconduct risks associated with employment practices in the Victorian public sector, is “forthcoming”.

The commission was unable to furnish a breakdown of complaints made against VicRoads.

The regulators report can be found here.

Responses have been sought from VicRoads and state roads minister Luke Donnellan.

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