Review a conflict of interest

Following Band 7 approval of a conflict of interest (COI) or additional employment, employees and supervisors are responsible for ongoing monitoring and regular formal review.

To manage risk effectively, employees and supervisors must have a thorough understanding of the matter and remain aware of any impacts so they can:

  • monitor for emerging issues and implement new mitigations as part of routine day-to-day operations
  • implement mitigations as temporary circumstances arise
  • conduct a formal review at appropriate intervals and upon conclusion
  • General responsibilities
    Employees and supervisorsMust discuss any changes, issues or new COIs brought about by the previously declared COI within five business days of becoming aware of them.
    Supervisors and senior officersMust monitor the COI for new ongoing or temporary issues and address concerns raised by other employees about the matter.

    How to report changed circumstances

  • Financial interests and affiliations
    General responsibility

    Given an approved COI relates to a financial interest or affiliation, when a procurement matter arises, employees must immediately declare a procurement conflict of interest for assessment by the Division of Finance.

    Self-employment

    Clause 7c of the Finance Management Policy reads “An employee cannot provide goods or services to the University in any capacity, outside of those provided through their employment relationship.”

    To understand monitoring and review requirements for staff who are also self-employed, refer to information on how to review additional employment.

Formal review as part of PPDR

Current and recently concluded matters must be formally reviewed at appropriate intervals by employees and their supervisor as part of the employee’s performance and planning review. That is, the University’s Performance Planning Development and Review (PPDR) annual and mid-year check-ins.

Even short-term matters benefit from retrospective review to confirm they were managed effectively and to identify any issues that require reporting to DPC and/or Procurement. Formal reviews also provide supervisors with valuable insights that may benefit management of future matters.

Supervisors must include in their PPDR comments that the matter has been reviewed and either state that there are no issues or provide a brief description of issues to be reported to DPC and/or Procurement.

  • Additional employment including self-employment

    The Employment Conditions Procedure - Additional Employment and University Consultancies (AEUC Procedure) requires at least annual review of approved additional employment arrangements to ensure:

    • Compliance with applicable policy and procedure
    • That a conflict of interest (COI) has not been brought about by the activity

    Review is appropriate as part of PPDR due to the potential for an activity to:

    • Be directly relevant to an employee’s performance and development, e.g. clinical currency, career planning
    • Impact an employee’s ability to meet general and specific responsibilities of a Charles Sturt employee, including:
      • Performance
      • Taking reasonable steps to avoid actual, potential or perceived conflicts of duty between their private interests and the interests of the University
  • Conflicts of Interest

    To streamline formal review processes, supervisors should conduct a review of any current or recently concluded conflict of interest part of an employee’s PPDR.

Review a conflict of interest

Monitoring and review of a conflict of interest must identify non-compliance with University policy and procedure, and evaluate all factors specific to the declaration and its approved mitigations in accordance with the Charles Sturt Conflict of Interest Procedure, including but not limited to:

  1. Have all parties complied with the mitigations that were approved to manage the conflict?
  2. Have the approved mitigations been successful in enabling the employee to avoid involvement in any way, including decision making and influence (antagonism or bias)?
  3. Has the conflict of interest brought about non-compliance with Charles Sturt policy or procedure?
  4. Have there been any material changes in relationships, financial interests or other relevant change?
  5. Does any change affect, or potentially affect, the effectiveness of the approved mitigations?

In order to answer all relevant questions, you must refer to the original approved form including DPC’s comments and summary of controls.

Supervisors must include in their PPDR comments that the matter has been reviewed and either state that there are no issues or provide a brief description of issues to be reported to DPC and/or Procurement.

Review additional employment

Monitoring and review must identify non-compliance with Charles Sturt policy and procedure, including the Employment Conditions Procedure - Additional Employment and University Consultancies. Supervisors must include in their PPDR comments that the matter has been reviewed and either state that there are no issues or provide a brief description of issues to be reported to DPC and/or Procurement.

Monitoring and review must also evaluate factors that prevent and manage conflicts of interest that can arise while holding additional employment in accordance with the Conflict of Interest Procedure, including but not limited to:

1

Maintaining reasonable work hours and avoiding conflicts with University duties

Clause 32(e) of the Conflict of Interest Procedure states that a conflict of interest occurs when an employee “devotes so much time to their outside professional activities, consultancy or secondary employment to the extent that the amount or quality of their work for the University is compromised”.

Employees must therefore keep their daily and weekly working hours within safe and sustainable limits, maintain adequate rest between work periods, and refrain from engaging in secondary employment when expected to be performing work for the University.

2

Prioritising personal wellbeing and safe work practices

The health, safety, and wellbeing of all employees is paramount to the University. Employees must ensure they take sufficient breaks and maintain adequate recovery time to support their personal wellbeing and ability to meet work health and safety responsibilities.

3

Refraining from association with the University

While carrying out responsibilities relating to secondary employment, the employee must not act in the capacity of their employment with the University or associate the additional work to the University in any way. For example, by making use of University branding, facility, equipment or resource (including computer software and information technology resources).

4

Declaring a conflict of interest as it arises

Holding multiple roles may bring about conflict with the fulfilment of the responsibilities of each role, including both staff-facing and student-facing duties. Should a conflict arise during an employee’s day-to-day work in either position, they must discuss it with each supervisor and declare a conflict of interest so as to enable timely and effective management.

Financial matters must be declared using the procurement conflict of interest form for assessment by the Division of Finance.

5

Refraining from creating a COI related to self-employment

In accordance with clause 7c of the Finance Management Policy, staff who are also self-employed must refrain from creating a conflict of interest by not:

  • actively promoting their business within the University; and
  • participating in, influencing, or approving any University procurement processes involving goods or services related to her business, including comparable or alternative goods and services.

If an extenuating circumstance arises, before any purchase from an employee’s business proceeds, the work unit leader responsible for authorising the purchase must declare a procurement conflict of interest for assessment by the Division of Finance.

Clause 7c of the Finance Management Policy reads:

An employee cannot provide goods or services to the University in any capacity, outside of those provided through their employment relationship.

Report changes or issues

  • What must be reported

    A supervisor or Band 7 leader must notify DPC and/or Procurement in writing within five (5) business days any changes to the original approval including:

    • Conclusion of ongoing matters.
    • Conclusion of a matter on a date other than the approved date.
    • Issues with current mitigations.
    • A new COI arising from the previously approved matter, including but not limited to a procurement conflict of interest or a context brought about by additional employment.
  • When to complete a new form

    A supervisor, Band 7 leader or DPC may deem it appropriate to complete and approve a new form in certain circumstances, such as:

    • The matter is sufficiently different to the  context that was originally approved.
    • The change involves a short-term context requiring separate management in addition to the original matter.
    • The matter requires a procurement conflict of interest declaration for assessment by the Division of Finance

    Complete a Conflict of Interest Declaration form

    Complete a Request for Approval for Secondary Employment form

    Complete a Procurement Conflict of Interest Declaration form

  • How to report to DPC

    Within five (5) business days, supervisor or Band 7 leader must email dpc@csu.edu.au to provide the new form or:

    • Summarise the situation, e.g. non-compliance with mitigations, policy or procedure; changed circumstances; ineffective mitigations; and
    • Specify mitigations that must be in place for approval to be retained; or
    • State that the conflict can no longer be managed and propose a way forward
  • How to report to Procurement

    Employees and supervisors must immediately complete a procurement conflict of interest form and forward it to procurement@csu.edu.au (Cc dpc@csu.edu.au) for assessment by the Division of Finance.

  • What to include in your report

    To assist processing, please include in the email subject line:

    • A brief description (e.g. Conflict of interest, secondary employment)
    • The employee’s full name and Staff ID
    • The original DPC Declaration Number
  • Next steps

    DPC and/or Procurement will review the notice or form and respond accordingly.

Further questions

For help identifying or managing a conflict of interest, please first contact your supervisor.

You can also contact another senior officer within your work area. If you are still unsure, it is safest to complete a declaration.

For further information or help email dpc@csu.edu.au or procurement@csu.edu.au.