Have you seen something in the University that you think is wrong?
Everyone involved with the University is expected to act with integrity and be accountable for their actions.
Everyone is expected to report activity or behaviour that they reasonably believe is wrong.
The University does not tolerate illegal activity or those who disregard the laws, codes or University policies that govern its activities. If you have information about something that you suspect or reasonably believe is wrong, you should make a report. This page will help you work out how you can make a report.
Who should I talk to if I suspect wrongdoing?
Depending on the type of wrongdoing that you are concerned about, there are certain people you can, and should, talk to. This might be your Supervisor/Manager, Head of School/Branch, Human Resources Advisor or you may need to make a report to the South Australian Office for Public Integrity. Refer to our FAQs听for more information on reporting to the Office for Public Integrity.
Before you report, first ask: what kind of information do I have? The information under each of the headings below will help you to know how to report various categories of wrongdoing.
If you're concerned about adverse consequences, you can make a protected disclosure under the University's Whistleblower Policy. Further information about making protected disclosures is available on the Legal and Risk whistleblower protection page.
The requires that you report information about suspected fraud, corruption or bribery. In the first instance you should report it to your Supervisor or Head of School/Branch. It is important that you are clear about: the information, or evidence, that you have, the reasons for your report, and details of the person or persons involved.
Corruption
Corruption means the misuse of office or conferred power for personal or private advantage and may include bribery, fraud, nepotism, extortion or dishonesty. Corruption includes conspiring to aid, induce or conceal these offences. Corruption can include improper action taken by personnel to further the purported interests of an organisation.The following are examples of instances of corruption:
Improperly using an official position to gain an advantage for oneself or another person
Facilitating dishonest behaviour by another for an incentive or "a slice of the action"
Allowing personal relationships to improperly influence a decision
Unauthorised use, release or destruction of data for personal advantage
Fraud
Fraud includes dishonestly obtaining or attempting to obtain a benefit or advantage for any person or dishonestly causing or attempting to cause a detriment to the 成人大片 or Controlled Entities. The following are examples of instances of fraud:
Forging or falsifying documents or signatures
Authorising payments for employees for tasks they have not performed or are not qualified to perform
Taking University Resources for听a personal project that is unrelated to your employment
Dishonest use of a University credit card or borrowing from the petty cash tin
For more information about reporting suspected fraud or corruption, please refer to the .
Academic integrity broadly describes our expectations about the way teaching and research activities are conducted and fostered within the University.* Expectations about integrity are reflected in laws, codes and University policies intended to ensure:
Responsible ;
Fair dealing with ;
Observance of obligations;
Students are supported to adopt the core value听of ;
All members of the University community are expected to act with integrity in all that they do.
The following are examples that do not meet the expectations and standards of academic integrity:
Persistently ignoring instances of plagiarism in a student's submitted assignments
Claiming sole authorship for a collaborative research publication
Pursuing publication of research findings without the consent of all researchers involved
Neglecting to protect or disclose to the University commercially viable intellectual property
Deliberately infringing copyright of a third party by reproducing created material on the University's website
If you are concerned about an activity that does not uphold the principles of Academic Integrity you should report to your supervisor and/or consult the relevant .
The Office of Research Ethics, Compliance and Integrity provides detailed information and support about research integrity to the University. If you wish to report a suspected instance of research misconduct, please refer to the section below.
*The Academic Board is responsible for monitoring and advising on issues of academic integrity.
intent, deliberation, recklessness or gross and persistent negligence; and
serious听consequences, such as false information on the public record, or adverse effects on听research participants, animals or the environment.
Examples of research misconduct include:
Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or deception in proposing, carrying out or reporting the results of research;
Failure to declare or manage a serious conflict of interest; and
Avoidable failure to follow research proposals as approved by a research ethics committee, particularly where this failure may result in unreasonable risk or harm to humans, animals or the environment.
Research Misconduct also includes the wilful concealment or facilitation of research misconduct by others.
If you suspect Research Misconduct you should contact a Research Integrity Advisor who can provide you with confidential advice as to what constitutes research misconduct or serious misconduct, the rights and responsibilities of a complainant and the procedures for dealing with allegations of research misconduct within the University.
If you think a law is being breached within the University you should report it. You can raise the issue with a Local Compliance Officer in your area (please see your area's Legal Compliance page) or speak to your Head of School.
If the issue is confidential, or you are unsure what action to take, contact the Manager Compliance on 8313 0482 or at legalcompliance@adelaide.edu.au.
Most incidents of non-compliance are not intentional and may only become obvious once they have happened. Reporting can ensure actions are put into place early, before a breach or potential breach becomes more serious.
The following are examples of non-compliance with the law:
A Senior Manager finishes employment at the University and orders his notebooks to be destroyed and all of his emails to be deleted (Breach of the State Records Act)
A school hosts its end-of-year exhibition at an off-campus location, selling alcohol without obtaining a liquor licence (Breach of the Liquor Licensing Act)
Testing of a drone commences without proper licensing (Breach of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations)
For more information about Legal Compliance please visit the Compliance page of the Legal & Risk website.
The University's sets standards of behaviour for听all University personnel. Under the Policy, bullying and/or harassment of any kind is unacceptable. It is also prohibited by law.
Examples of bullying or harassment might听include:
Abusive, insulting or offensive language or comments
Unjustified criticism or complaints
Continuously and deliberately excluding someone from workplace activities
Withholding information that is vital for effective work performance
Setting unreasonable timelines or constantly changing deadlines
Setting tasks that are unreasonably below or beyond a person鈥檚 skill level
Denying access to information, supervision, consultation or resources such that it is detrimental to the worker
Spreading misinformation or malicious rumours
Changing work arrangements, such as rosters and leave, to deliberately inconvenience a particular worker or
workers
Excessive scrutiny at work
If you encounter bullying or harassment you should talk to your supervisor. If you find yourself in a position where you would feel uncomfortable reporting to your supervisor, you can contact a Fair Treatment Contact Officer.
The Complaints Resolution (Staff) Procedure听allows the University to deal with complaints from staff members about the behaviour of other staff members or about issues that adversely affect their ability to work productively in a positive environment. The complaint resolution process aims to resolve conflict and improve working relations at the local level.
If you have a workplace grievance,听you should first discuss with your supervisor. For more information about reporting a workplace conflict or making a complaint please visit the Human Resources website.
Under the University's听听University IT account holders must:
Report any security weakness or threat to University IT facilities that they suspect or observe to the Technology Service Desk immediately on 8303 3000
Report any known or suspected breaches of the IT Acceptable Use and Security Policy and its associated Procedures to the Technology Service Desk as soon as possible. If the breach is particularly sensitive or serious, they may choose to report the breach directly to the IT Risk Management Team by emailing infosec@adelaide.edu.au
Report lost, stolen or damaged computers or other IT equipment to the Technology Service Desk as soon as possible. The loss or damage should also be reported to Legal and Risk on 8303 4539 as an adverse event for insurance purposes
If you have know of any incident or threat to the University's IT security, please submit a .
For more information about secure computing practices,听please visit the Technology Services .
Your obligation as a public officer
If you are a University employee, an officer of the University, a titleholder, a volunteer, a consultant or a contractor who provides services to the University, you are a Public Officer under the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA) and are required by law to report corruption in public administration to the Office for Public Integrity.
The University and its officers have public accountability obligations set out in its founding Act and other State and Commonwealth legislation. This includes accountability to bodies such as the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Ombudsman, Auditor General, Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission and funding bodies.
If you're concerned that there might be action taken against you for reporting wrongdoing, you may wish to make a protected disclosure under the University's Whistleblower Policy.
