Councils weak on fraud prevention, audit finds

NSW’s audit office determines the majority of the state’s councils have poor fraud control procedures, prompting a call for improved funding and training.

25 June, 2018

Council’s bid to combat domestic violence shelter shortage

Randwick Council has announced a plan to allocate affordable housing units to reduce the pressure on shelters, becoming the latest local government to help tackle domestic violence.

10 April, 2018

NSW ICAC wants crack down on employment screening

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has recommends to the State Government that it adopt stronger employment screening practices. It says that this will help combat employment application fraud, which if left undetected can ultimately allow other corrupt conduct to occur. ICAC Chief Commissioner Peter Hall said that employment application fraud is common in […]

26 February, 2018

Australia becoming more corrupt, shows international index

Australia rates comparatively well on international corruption scales, but it is getting worse. The annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) from Transparency International rates 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people. It uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and […]

22 February, 2018

Operation Belcarra claims Queensland electoral commissioner

Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) head Walter van der Merwe has resigned, two days after being suspended for allegations of serious misconduct. Current ECQ Assistant Electoral Commissioner Dermot Tiernan will be Acting Electoral Commissioner. In a short statement, Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said Mr van der Merwe “has delivered his resignation to the Governor this […]

15 February, 2018

Opinion – Australia’s jails a national disgrace

Australia’s states and territories are building more and more prisons, trying to outdo each other on law and order. Crime rates across Australia are falling , but incarceration rates have never been higher. So are the costs of locking up so many people. Australianj ails are becoming increasingly overcrowded, with many at breaking point. They […]

12 February, 2018

Logan City Council in uproar as CEO sacked

Logan City Council has sacked its CEO Sharon Kelsey, who was appointed only in June 2017 after an intensive nationwide search. The council has refused to give any reasons for her termination, and Ms Kelsey herself has said she cannot comment for legal reasons. The Council meeting that decided on the move ended in uproar […]

12 February, 2018

PC Report on Government Services – Justice

The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) also covers Justice – Police, Courts and Corrective Services. Total government expenditure for the justice services measured in RoGS was almost $16 billion in 2016-17, around 7.2 percent of total government expenditure on services. Police services were the largest contributor (65.4 percent of this amount), followed by […]

24 January, 2018

PC Report on Government Services – Community Services

The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) contain a large section on Community Services. It breaks the sector into four categories: aged care, services for people with disabilities, child protection services, and youth justice services. It is an enormous sector, second only to health. Total Federal, state and territory government recurrent expenditure on community […]

23 January, 2018

NSW adds cocaine to driver drug testing

New South Wales is the first Australian state to test drivers for cocaine use. All Australian states now have random driver drug testing, similar to random breath testing for alcohol. But the existing kits in all states test only THC (Cannabis), methamphetamine (speed and ice) and MDMA (ecstasy). Cocaine, a drug widely associated with more […]

15 January, 2018

Significant corruption revealed in Australian Public Service

Two new reports have highlighted the extent of corruption in the Australian Public Service (APS). One of the says that corrupt practices may cost the economy as much as $72 billion dollars since 2012. Australia’s Public Service Commission has released a report that says that 5 percent of APS survey respondents said they had witnessed […]

11 January, 2018

Effective security means better systems

The Australian urban streetscape has long featured video surveillance via high definition cameras. But there is more to security than high quality hardware – you need the right systems and techniques behind it. Many countries are now stepping up their security in terms of technology, budget and the number and skills of people involved in […]

11 December, 2017

Jury still out on police body cameras

Smile, you’re on body worn camera (WA Police) The Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has published a report on the effectiveness of police body-worn cameras in Australia. The report is based on interviews with 899 people detained by police across Australia. It also examines some of the existing literature on body-worn cameras (BWCs), highlighting many […]

20 November, 2017

Councillors behaving badly put on notice

The NSW Government has released a draft of an updated Model Code of Conduct for councillors and council staff in the state. It has been released for consultation, with submissions closing on 4 December. In a press release titled ‘Crackdown on badly behaved councillors’, Local Government Minister Gabrielle Upton said most councillors do the right […]

23 October, 2017