Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
Human Resources Manual
9.0 Conflicts of Interest Policy
_______________________________________________________
Policy Application
This Policy applies to employees and other workers.
Policy Statement
HDC acknowledges its obligations under the State Services Code of Conduct (included
as an appendix to this HR Manual) which requires its employees and other workers to
act with impartially and neutrality in carrying out its functions.
In order to ensure that these obligations are continually met, employees and other
workers are required to disclose any personal interests that may compromise or appear
to compromise
. To assist employees and other
workers in fulfilling this requirement, this Policy provides an overview of:
what may constitute a conflict of interest; and
the process for declaring/appropriately managing conflicts of interest.
Conflicts of interest
The following are examples (without limitation) of personal interests that may conflict
with the interests of HDC:
Outside employment or volunteer work.
Outside business activities and/or obligations, including but not limited to
shareholdings, directorships, honorary work, membership in a society, club or
association, and/or trustee activities.
Non-work related publications, presentations and/or speeches.
Involvement in decision making processes at HDC, where that involvement may
result in personal gain/benefit for an employee or other worker, or for someone that
that employee or other worker has a close personal relationship with (including but
not limited to spouses, partners and children). For example:
-
where an employee or other worker has a close personal relationship with
another employee or other worker, involvement in any matter relevant to the
terms and conditions of th
employment or engagement at HDC
(including but not limited to appointment, promotion, salary or performance
review, or leave);
-
where an employee or other worker has a close personal relationship with a
complainant or a provider, involvement in any matter that relates to that
complainant or provider;
-
where an employee or other worker makes a complaint to HDC, involvement
in any matter that relates to that complaint.
Effective date:
Signature of the Health and Disability Commissioner:
Filed in X/HDC Policy Manual/HR Manual
Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
Human Resources Manual
T
professional capacity) where there is the potential for acceptance of the gift to
suggest partiality/favoritism on behalf of HDC.
Any other commitments, roles, positions, connections or involvements in decision
making processes that may compromise or appear to compromise
and/or neutrality in the course of carrying out its functions.
Process for disclosing conflicts of interest
Employees and other workers must disclose to their Employing Manager, in writing,
any personal interest that may conflict with HDC
interests. This disclosure must occur
before an employee or other worker takes on any such personal interest, or as soon as
they become aware that any such personal interest may already be held.
Employing Managers will consider disclosures of personal interests, and whether they
s, on a case by case basis. Where an Employing Manager:
does not consider that a personal interest
interest, they will
grant approval, in writing, for the employee or other worker to proceed with taking
on the personal interest, or continuing to hold the personal interest; and
considers that a personal interest conflicts
, they will consider
whether the conflict can be appropriately managed by:
-
ensuring the matter is entered on the Conflicts and Declarations of Interest
Register;
-
if necessary, imposing restrictions on the employee or other worker; and
-
if necessary, directing the employee or other worker to take certain actions.
Where an Employing Manager considers that the above steps would result in the
conflict of interest being appropriately managed they will grant approval, in writing, for
the employee or other worker to proceed with taking on the personal interest or
continuing to hold the personal interest, will ensure that the matter is entered on the
Conflicts
and
Declarations
of
Interest
Register,
and
will
action
any
restrictions/directions as are considered necessary.
Where an Employing Manager does not consider that the above steps would result in
the conflict of interest being appropriately managed they will decline approval, in
writing, and the employee or other worker will not be permitted to proceed with taking
on the personal interest, or continuing to hold the personal interest.
An Employing Manager may consult the Associate Commissioner Legal and Strategic
Relations in the course of undertaking the above process, and will notify the Associate
Commissioner Legal and Strategic Relations of any potential conflict of interest
identified, and the steps that will be taken to avoid that conflict arising. The Associate
Commissioner Legal and Strategic Relations is responsible for entering the matter on
the Conflicts and Declarations of Interest Register.
Employees and other workers are encouraged to contribute articles to professional
journals and to speak to interested consumer or provider groups. For the avoidance of
Effective date:
Signature of the Health and Disability Commissioner: see page 9.0
Filed in X/HDC Policy Manual/HR Manual
Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
Human Resources Manual
doubt, if any such communication is or could be construed as representing or
k, prior written approval must be
obtained from their Employing Manager.
Process where disclosure of a personal interest relates to a particular complaint
For the avoidance of doubt, an employee or other worker must disclose to their
Employing Manager (in accordance with the process set out above) where they have a
close personal relationship with a complainant or a provider (who has been complained
about) and may be exposed to information relating to that complaint, or where they
have made or are going to make a complaint to HDC themselves.
In the above circumstances an Employing Manager is likely to consider that a conflict
of interest does exist. The Employing Manager will manage the conflict by noting the
conflict on the file and by immediately informing the Complaints Assessment Manager,
Associate Commissioner Investigations and/or the Associate Commissioner Legal and
Strategic Relations (as appropriate, depending on the stage of the complaint),
requesting that they:
inform any employees and/or other workers handling the complaint that they are not
to discuss the identity of the complainant/the
employee or other worker with any other employee or other worker;
personally sign out any communications between HDC and the parties in relation to
the complaint;
ensure that the employee or other worker to whom the complaint relates to is not in
any way involved in the complaints assessment process, including (but not limited
to) any decision making processes associated with the complaint;
anonymise the complaint file on ECDS and on the exterior of the hard copy file,
where this is considered necessary, and ensure that the employee or other worker to
whom the complaint relates to cannot access that information;
brief out, to an external provider, any interviews with the employee or other worker
that may be necessary in the course of assessing the complaint (ie. in the context of
an investigation); and
inform the provider of the above steps, where this is considered necessary.
Additional process in relation to gifts
Where an employee or other worker receives a gift in their professional capacity at
HDC (and in addition to the process set out above), an Employing Manager will
consider what action is necessary. As a general rule, all gifts must be entered on the
Gifts Register, along with information about who originally received the gift and what
has been or will be done with it. The Gift Register is maintained by the Finance
Manager.
Effective date:
Signature of the Health and Disability Commissioner: see page 9.0
Filed in X/HDC Policy Manual/HR Manual
Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner
Human Resources Manual
Use of HDC name
Employees and other workers are not permitted to use the official title of HDC or the
Commissioner except in connection with legitimate HDC purposes. This is particularly
important when the employee or other worker (or someone that they have a close
personal relationship with) is receiving or seeking to access health or disability
services.
Effective date:
Signature of the Health and Disability Commissioner: see page 9.0
Filed in X/HDC Policy Manual/HR Manual
