ICAC report finds culture of bullying, harassment in SA’s public service
Public servants have revealed “sobering and shocking” stories of corruption and inappropriate conduct to the state’s ICAC in a major report. READ THEIR EXPERIENCES
Fearful and anxious bureaucrats are working within a culture of bullying, harassment and nepotism in South Australia’s public service, an anti-corruption watchdog report reveals.
The ICAC Public Integrity Survey 2018 In Their Own Wordsreleased on Tuesday outlines the toll of inappropriate conduct on workers and level of corruption within government agencies.
In his report — the first of its type to be made public — ICAC chief Bruce Lander says the stories shared by public servants are “sobering and, in many instances, shocking”.
Mr Lander commissioned the survey to better understand state and local government employee attitudes and perceptions towards corruption and inappropriate conduct.
The survey, conducted between April 4 and May 4 last year, was completed by 12,656 public servants of whom 2064 provided further written responses.
Almost one in four bureaucrats who participated in the survey worked for SA Health, while 55 per cent of respondents were female.
Mr Lander says the survey reveals numerous stories of fear and anxiety about reporting inappropriate conduct and practices — when there should not be any risk.
“Survey participants from every agency spoke of perceived incidents of bullying and harassment, and nepotism and favouritism,” he says.
“Many participants spoke of being victimised for having made a report, particularly by those in more senior positions.
“Some participants reported consequences as significant as losing their job or their workplace becoming so untenable that individuals felt compelled to leave.”
Mr Lander says public servants are more likely to report concerns if they are appropriately considered and not the potential target for retaliation.
He says he has written to chief executives and launched investigations into issues of employee or patient/client confidentiality within numerous departments.
“I hope that those engaged in public administration read the words and stories … to understand the impact that perceived integrity issues are having on public officers,” he says.
“These words and stories should act as a catalyst to examine the integrity culture within public administration and implement change as necessary.”
The Public Integrity Survey 2018 was the third of its type to be conducted — there have been previous surveys in 2013 and 2015 — but the first to result in a public report.
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said the State Government would consider the conclusions made in Mr Lander’s report.
Ms Chapman said new laws that came into effect in July protected the identity of informants and allowed them to pass on information to the relevant authorities without fear or reprisal.
“These new laws ensure public sector employees who want to disclose information about public sector maladministration, corruption or misconduct can come forward and speak up with the full protection of the law,” she said.
“As the commissioner says in the report, there should be no risk to public officers who stand up and speak out about misconduct in the workplace.”