Public institutions should be reliable, fair and trustworthy. The people who work for those institutions must be diligent, honest and ethical. If they are not, they should be held accountable.

What is corruption in public administration?

For the purposes of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012, corruption in public administration is defined to mean conduct that constitutes certain identified offences. These are:

  • an offence against Part 7 Division 4 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935, which includes offences like bribery of public officers, abuse of public office and offences relating to appointment to public office;
  • an offence against the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 or the Public Corporations Act 1993, or an attempt to commit such an offence;
  • an offence against the Lobbyists Act 2015, or an attempt to commit such an offence; and
  • being complicit in any of those offences.

Complaints and reports about corruption in South Australian public administration must be made to the Office for Public Integrity phone (08) 8207 1777.