WA’s Corruption and Crime Commission has released its inaugural risk assessment report, which covers potential temptations for public servants.

The corruption watchdog says it hopes WA’s public sector will be better armed to combat corruption and misconduct following the release.

The report (available here, in PDF form) identifies the agencies and activities that are inherently more susceptible to corruption and misconduct.

CCC Acting Commissioner, Neil Douglas, said the report, which was informed by data from around 300 government departments, local governments and other organisations, will be a valuable tool for agency heads as they strive to identify and remove corruption risks in an increasingly-complex environment.

The report says the following agencies carry the greatest inherent risk of corruption and misconduct; the Departments of Corrective Services, Transport, WA Health, the Attorney General, Education, and Local Government and Communities, and WA Police, universities and local governments.

These agencies, more than others, are faced with particular challenges – including large, geographically-dispersed or complicated structures; the management of large budgets; the regular use of discretionary powers; access to highly sensitive information; working with vulnerable client groups; the management of privatised or partially privatised services; and high levels of pressure and scrutiny.

But the Acting Commissioner says it is not intended to be a witch hunt.

“The Commission is not in the business of telling public sector heads how to run their agencies, nor prescribing how misconduct and corruption should be managed. Instead, we’re providing what we think is very valuable information that will help inform and strengthen their policies, processes and systems,” he said.

“The shift away from traditional service delivery to outsourced business models – and the particular vulnerabilities that leads to in terms of conflicts of interest, gifts, benefits and fraud – will be a focus for the Commission going forward,” Mr Douglas said.

The release of the Misconduct Intelligence Assessment report means the Commission can apply its efforts to areas of the public sector where the risk of serious misconduct is greatest.

“This Report alerts public sector agencies to the areas that are commanding our attention – and clearly and openly signals the focus of the Commission’s activities going forward,” Mr Douglas said

“It will mean we will be focusing on those areas where we can make the biggest difference and direct our resources to where they are needed most.”