University staff to be surveyed in new ICAC review

The state’s anti-corruption watchdog is set to launch an integrity review of South Australia’s three public universities.

The state’s anti-corruption watchdog is set to launch an integrity review of South Australia’s three public universities.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is set to commence on Wednesday a scheduled review, which occurs every three years, of higher education in the state.

It will conduct a integrity survey of the staff at the three institutions, UniSA, the University of Adelaide and Flinders University, which will run for six weeks.

An ICAC spokeswoman said the survey would examine university staff’s “willingness to report suspicions of corruption, barriers to reporting and experiences of having made a report”.

“The 2023 university integrity survey will focus on risks associated with the conduct of research, records management and outside professional activities,” the spokeswoman said.

She denied that the timing of the survey was influenced by the upcoming merger between UniSA and the University of Adelaide.

“The survey will not contain any questions that explicitly asks about the proposed merger,” the spokeswoman said.

University of South Australia Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd

UniSA vice chancellor Professor David Lloyd welcomed the review and said it would play an “educative role” in helping staff understand their “personal obligations” in combating corruption.

“It is also an opportunity for us to reflect on the nature of our operations and highlight any areas for improving how we do business,” Prof Lloyd said.

All staff are “encouraged to take the opportunity to participate”, Prof Lloyd said.

A University of Adelaide spokeswoman said the review comes after “many significant social and economic changes” since the last review, including the proposed university merger.

“The integrity and accountability of our operations must always be front of mind, both with our own independently audited processes and through external government regulation,” the spokeswoman said.

Flinders University general counsel and secretary Marc Davies alerted staff to the review in an email which reminded staff of their “obligation to report any matter” which could involve corruption.

A final report of the 2023 survey’s findings is due in early 2024.

It follows the 2020 integrity survey, which found a third of university staff felt too intimidated to report corruption or inappropriate conduct.

A third of the 3200 respondents agreed their university placed reputation above addressing problems.