Conflicts of interest

The people of NSW expect that as public officials, Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) employees must perform their duties in a fair and transparent way. The decisions employees make must not be affected by self-interest, private affiliations, or the likelihood that Department of Communities and Justice employees (or those close to them) will be unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged in any way (financially or otherwise).

A conflict of interest involves a conflict between an employee’s obligation to carry out their duties as a public official, and their private interests. While such conflicts should be avoided, they must be identified, disclosed and managed effectively. Non-disclosure risks undermining the integrity of our organisation, as well as having potentially serious implications for the individual.

The Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy and Procedure (PDF, 323.4 KB) guides employees to identify and appropriately deal with COI and to ensure that DCJ has a consistent approach in reporting and managing actual, perceived and potential COI. Employees must be open and honest about, and declare, any COI as soon as they become aware of them.

You must complete a COI declaration:

• As soon as an actual, perceived or potential COI has been identified
• As soon as practical, following any change in your private interests
• At least annually (during November) where an existing COI is in place, or where a new COI has been identified in line with the new COI Policy and Procedure

All COI declarations will expire on 30 November each year, irrespective of when the last approval was granted.

The annual rollout is mandatory for all employees in relation to their COI. All declarations are to be made via the COI online declaration form. All employees will receive an email notifying them of the requirement of an annual COI declaration where required (that is, where there is an existing COI, or where a new COI declaration should be made).

How to submit a declaration 

For accessibility reasons, it is highly recommended that you complete the online form using either a laptop/tablet or PC.

Please see the Conflicts of Interest Declaration Form and answer all questions.

Business Ethics & Compliance Unit (BECU) Dashboard

Declarants will be able to access their COI (draft or completed) and any other relevant business ethics declarations/applications such as Secondary Employment and Unpaid Work (SEUW) via the BECU Dashboard. Declarants will receive a password when they complete (even as a draft) a declaration to allow them to access the Dashboard at any time.

Delegated officers will be able to access all business ethics declarations/applications (e.g. SEPID, Conflicts of Interest, Secondary Employment, etc.) via the BECU Dashboard. Delegated officers will receive a password when they receive a pending declaration (or when submitting their own declarations/applications) (even as a draft) to allow them to access the Dashboard. This means that all employee declarations pending review and approval are available via this single portal.

It is highly recommended that declarants and delegated officers set (and save) their own password which will then be reflected in future workflow emails for the business ethics online forms.

Security of your information

Declarations will be stored in a secure database in accordance with Information and Digital Services (IDS) policies and with the Privacy & Personal Information Protection Act 1998.

Those who have access to COI information are listed on page 19 of the Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy and Procedure (PDF, 323.4 KB).

All personal information collected, managed and disclosed under this program will comply with the requirements of the NSW Privacy Laws as outlined in the Department’s Privacy Management Plan.

Relevant documents

• Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy and Procedure (PDF, 323.4 KB)
• Conflicts of Interest (COI) Form Quick Reference Guide (PDF, 996.0 KB)
• BECU Dashboard Quick Reference Guide (PDF, 930.4 KB)
• Conflicts of Interest (COI) Fact Sheet (PDF, 168.2 KB)

Associated programs

Associated codes, policies, procedures and guidelines that relate to the COI Program include, but not limited to:

• Senior Executive Private Interest Declaration (SEPID)
• Secondary Employment and Unpaid Work (SEUW)
• Gifts, Benefits and Bequests (GBB)

Contact and support

Advice and support is available from the Business Ethics and Compliance Unit (BECU) via the Conflicts@facs.nsw.gov.au mailbox. 

If you have trouble accessing the documents on this page or to request an accessible version, please contact us.