This policy applies to all members of staff of UniSA.
It does not apply to UniSA Council Members as they are covered by the University of South Australia Act 1990 (S 15C), or other members of the UniSA community e.g. Adjuncts, students, volunteers, consultants or contractors for whom there are separate obligations.
A Conflict of Interest can be actual, potential or perceived. It may arise where the direct or indirect personal interests of a member of UniSA’s staff conflict with, are in opposition to, or appear to (or actually do), inappropriately influence how they undertake their obligations to UniSA. It can be time limited or on-going.
There are many personal interests that could give rise to a conflict with your responsibility as a staff member. These include:
An actual conflict of interest arises when there is a direct conflict between a staff member’s duties or responsibilities and their personal interests which influence the performance of those duties. This includes financial or other personal or professional considerations which compromise an individual’s objectivity, professional judgment, professional integrity, and/or ability to perform his or her responsibilities to the University.
Perceived conflicts of interest include situations where it could be perceived, or appear to a reasonable person, that a staff member’s personal interests could improperly or unduly influence the performance of their duties and responsibilities.
Potential conflicts of interest are where a conflict of interest may arise in the future due to personal interests conflicting with or influencing required University duties or responsibilities.
A pecuniary (involving financial gain or loss) conflict of interest is a situation in which the potential exists for an individual’s personal financial interests to impair their judgment in the execution of their responsibilities to the University of South Australia. A financial or economic interest could include shares, investments, assets or debts or associations with family or private business(es).
A non-pecuniary conflict of interest is a situation in which the potential exists for an individual’s personal interests to impair their judgment in the execution of their responsibilities to the University of South Australia. Personal interests of a non-financial nature can be based on enmity or amity. These can be direct or indirect. For example, where the conflict is related to someone with whom the staff member has a significant relationship (i.e. spouse, family member, associate or close friend).
The Declaration of Conflict of Interest form needs to be completed by any full-time, part-time or casual staff member who may have an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest.
As soon as a situation arises which gives rise to the actual, potential or perceived conflict and before beginning the activity in question.
Types of things you should disclose include but are not limited to:
Please see the information on the Register of Personal Interests – Senior Staff webpage.
A conflict of interest can be actual, potential or perceived and may arise where the direct or indirect personal interests of a staff member conflicts with, appears to, or actually inappropriately influences how they undertake their obligations to UniSA or to the interests of UniSA generally. In these circumstances a Declaration of Conflict of Interest Form must be completed as soon as a conflict is identified. Once it is received, the supervisor will discuss it with the staff member and devise a management strategy appropriate to the conflict of interest.
The Register of Personal Interests Form must be completed by all UniSA Senior Staff on appointment, reviewed and updated at least annually, and/or as interests change. A personal interest is anything that can have an impact on an individual, including on people the individual is related to or associates with. Personal Interests can bring benefit or disadvantage and may be pecuniary (financial) or non-pecuniary (non-financial) in nature. All staff are advised to register pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests(s) which could give rise to an actual, potential or perceived conflict must be included on the form.
Importantly, a conflict of interest must still be declared even if the relevant personal interest has already been registered. For example, if a senior staff member has already disclosed that their spouse works for a particular supplier that does business with the University (that is, registering a personal interest), a declaration of a conflict should be made if that business tenders for a contract over which the senior staff member has involvement (that is, declaration of a conflict of interest).
All applicants for employment at UniSA should be able to compete on equal terms and be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged by their association with any member of the selection panel. In cases where a member of the selection panel has or had a personal, commercial, familial or other significant relationship with an applicant, the selection panel member must declare their actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest to the Recruitment Consultant and the Chair of the Panel. The Chair will then determine whether a replacement panel member is required. If the member remains on the panel, a declaration should be completed to record the management strategy to be applied during the process.
If a UniSA staff member is concerned at any time about an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest resulting from the actions or relationships of another UniSA employee, they must disclose that concern to their People Talent and Culture Business Partner or a senior staff member who will advise on appropriate action. In situations where they have information that informs a reasonable suspicion that a staff member’s conflict of interest might constitute corruption, misconduct or maladministration the matter must be referred to the State’s Office of Public Integrity.
If your personal circumstances change and may impact on your duties or research and lead to an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest, you should lodge a further Declaration of a Conflict of Interest.
Whenever relevant circumstances change regarding your personal circumstances that may impact on your duties or research and lead to an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest, you should lodge an updated Register of Personal Interests form. You are also required to update your register annually.
The online system for the Declaration of Conflict of Interest and Register of Personal Interest automatically forwards your disclosure to the designated supervisor for review.
The information provided in your declaration is regarded as confidential and managed under the terms of the University's Privacy Policy and Procedures governing the use of personal information and is only used for the purposes of administering the Management of Conflict of Interest Policy. Access to this information is limited to staff members who need to review and respond to your declaration and to ensure that any resulting management plan is followed. This includes, but is not limited to, your supervisor.
Once the online form is submitted, it will be automatically forwarded to your supervisor for review and approval. Once approved it is held in the Conflict of Interest Register and can be retrieved at any time if you require a copy.
Once completed, the online form is electronically stored in your personnel file. It can be retrieved at any time if you require a copy.
Your disclosure is considered part of your personal record. Access to this information is managed under the terms of the University’s Privacy Policy and Procedures governing the use of personal information and limited to staff members who need to review and approve your Register of Personal Interests as part of the responsibilities of their role, and to ensure that any agreed conflict management plan is followed. This includes, but is not limited to, your supervisor. Others who may access your Register of Personal Interests on direction from the Vice Chancellor include the General Counsel and the Executive Director: People, Talent and Culture.
Your supervisor and where required either the Executive Director: People, Talent and Culture or the Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Enterprise will review your completed declaration and advise on whether they believe an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest exists. If they conclude that one of these exists, they will determine what conditions or restrictions, if any, should be imposed by the University to assist in managing, mitigating or eliminating such conflicts. Your supervisor will then work with you to establish a conflict of interest management plan. In the event a supervisor or other reviewer determines you do not have a conflict, but you still believe it exists, you may still decide to absent yourself from a process or make some other appropriate adjustment to mitigate it.
You should not take part in the activity until a declaration of a conflict of interest has been completed and a conflict management plan has been approved by your supervisor or, where required, by the Executive Director: People, Talent and Culture or the Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Enterprise.
A conflict management plan is a document that outlines the agreed measures to be implemented to reduce, mitigate or eliminate an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest held by a member of staff. It details the actions and measures you and your supervisor will undertake to ensure your objectivity is maintained whilst performing your duties or research at UniSA.
If the person reviewing your declaration determines that an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest exists, the supervisor and staff member will develop a conflict management plan in order to ensure the mitigation of any conflict.
Yes. A person reviewing your disclosure may delegate the review of it to a member of the Enterprise Leadership Team (ELT) if required.
Yes. If you need an expedited review of your disclosure due to a deadline or other time constraint, please inform your supervisor when submitting your declaration. If your supervisor determines that there may be a potential, perceived or actual conflict of interest, they can work with you to establish a conflict management plan for consideration by the Executive Director: People, Talent and Culture or the Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research and Enterprise (where required).
Using the form to make a declaration of actual, potential or perceive conflict depends on the situation in which the conflict of interest arises e.g. procurement panels have an established procedure to declare a conflict of interest that must be complied with, the majority of committees will check for any conflicts of interest as part of their agenda or order of business. For most situations, it is appropriate to discuss your view that a conflict may arise and acknowledge it via the Declaration form. This provides for a record of the consideration and for a conflict management plan to be implemented if this is considered necessary to resolve the conflict.
If you have formally registered a conflict, and knowledge of that conflict could impact later on a process being run or a decision being made by another University staff member in the course of their duties, you are obliged to inform that person of the matter.
Failure to do so could be viewed as a breach of the Management of Conflict of Interest Policy, particularly if you are unduly advantaged (financially or otherwise) or the University disadvantaged by your failure to provide that information.
In a research setting, conflicts may affect the professional judgment of researchers in conducting, evaluating, or reporting on their research. It may affect, or be seen to affect, not only the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, but also the hiring of staff, procurement of materials, sharing of results, choice of protocol, involvement of human subjects, and the use of statistical methods. In short, a conflict of interest can affect almost any research related activity. The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research places significant responsibility on researchers to identify and manage any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest. Discussion with a supervisor and completion of the Declaration of Conflict of Interest form provides a mechanism for a conflict to be properly identified and a conflict management plan to be developed to resolve it and manage any risk to the research and to the University.
The Management of Conflict of Interest Policy highlights a number of areas where personal relationships can give rise to conflicts including:
If a staff member finds themselves in a position of an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest they should discuss it with their supervisor and complete the Declaration of Conflict of Interest form, so that an appropriate conflict management plan can be developed and any risk mitigated. (see Code of Good Practice Relationships between staff and students and Procedures for the management of Higher Degree by Research Supervision).
Where there is a close personal relationship between supervisors of an HDR candidate, an additional supervisor, who is not under the line management of the other supervisors, should be added to a supervisory panel. Where the relevant Executive Dean determines that there is a conflict of interest on the supervisory panel due to a close personal relationship, a conflict management plan for the HDR supervisors engaged in the relationship is required. A copy of the management plan will be retained in the supervisor’s personal file, and should be reviewed annually or until the panel concludes. Where the relevant Executive Dean determines there is no conflict of interest between the supervisors (or end-user advisors), a conflict management plan is not required. See or more detail Procedures for the management of Higher Degree by Research Supervision).
A conflict arising from a personal interest in a procurement process requires an immediate disclosure to the person leading that exercise. The Chair of the Contract and Tender Panel must ask members of any panel to declare any conflict of interest and document any conflicts prior to the tender being placed in the marketplace. However, members of a Contract and Tender Panel also have a responsibility to declare any conflict of interest whether asked by the Chair or not. Where a conflict exists, the Chair must consider the nature of the conflict and decide whether to seek an alternate member. If the Chair has a conflict of interest, approval to continue must be obtained from the relevant member of the Enterprise Leadership Team or Chief Operating Officer.
The University’s Procurement Handbook and Probity in Procurement Guidelines provide further information on addressing and managing conflicts of interest during procurement.
By referring to the resources available on the Managing Conflict of Interest website or by seeking advice from your manager, or your local People, Talent and Culture (PTC) Business Partner for assistance.
There is potential for conflicts in all aspects of University operations e.g. teaching, research, assessment, staffing and commercial activity. However, you also need to take reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest in the first place and not accept gifts, benefits or hospitality if, by doing so, a conflict would be created. Here are some examples where the specified action indicates that reasonable steps have not been taken to avoid a conflict of interest:
In the above examples, engaging in the specified behaviour, declaring a conflict and then expecting a supervisor to address the conflict would not negate the fact that you have failed to take reasonable steps to avoid getting into the situation initially. If you are unsure, it is advisable to contact your supervisor or your local People, Talent and Culture (PTC) Business Partner.