National

Conflicts of interest most common corruption red flag

By Duncan Murray

Oct 7, 2026

Signage at the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission — Victoria's anti-corruption body wants more of its recommendations to be made public. -AAP Image

Conflicts of interest and declarable associations have topped a list of concerns raised by a state corruption watchdog.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

Nearly all, or 84 per cent, of recommendations made by Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) over the past decade have been adopted in some capacity, the agency revealed on Wednesday in a new report.

Of the remaining recommendations, 10 per cent were partially implemented and six per cent had no implementation planned.

Many of the recommendations remain publicly sealed, with IBAC pushing for legislative change to allow greater transparency.

From 2014 to 2025, the watchdog made 260 recommendations relating to identifiable risks of public sector corruption, ranging from drug use to recruitment practices and staff supervisionÂ

In 51 per cent of cases, the recommendation was to review policies, procedures and frameworks.

In eight per cent, or 22 cases, disciplinary or management action was recommended against an individual or third party.

Five of the recommendations for disciplinary action related to the corrections sector.

Of all the recommendations, 77 related to the reporting or management of actual, potential or perceived conflicts between an employee or contractor's public duties and their private interests.

Recommendations applied to a range of sectors, with local government receiving the most at 40 recommendations, followed by corrections with 34.

Current legislation only permits IBAC recommendations that are contained in a special report or annual report to be made public.

IBAC Deputy Commissioner Stephen Farrow said making recommendations public not only increased accountability, but gave other agencies the opportunity to learn from them.

He added the agency's recommendations had in some instances led to significant reform.

The state's Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission was established following a joint 2022 investigation by IBAC and the Victorian Ombudsman into allegations Labor MPs were misusing public funds to pursue the interests of a moderate faction.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Watts, uncovered serious corrupt behaviour including unqualified people being hired into publicly funded roles to support factional work, nepotism, bullying and attempted interference with government grants.