In October 2012, the Commission announced that it made corrupt conduct findings against 22 employees of 15 public authorities (mostly local councils) who were found to have engaged in corrupt conduct by accepting gifts from suppliers as an inducement to continue placing orders or as a reward for placing orders with their companies. The gifts included TVs, camcorders, DVD players, iPads, iPhones, coats and gift vouchers.

Many of the salespeople whose conduct was investigated by the Commission were specifically trained in relational selling, whereby salespeople are trained to ask questions about a buyer’s family, hobbies and health, and to pretend to have an interest in these matters.

The process usually started with gifts worth modest amounts, increasing with the value of the orders placed by the public officials on behalf of their agencies. Salespeople would usually suggest sending the gifts to the buyer’s home rather than to their workplace, in order to hide the arrangement from the employer.

As a result of the investigation, 15 salespeople were found to have engaged in corrupt conduct through their involvement in offering these gifts and benefits to public officials.

Among the 15 corruption prevention recommendations made, the Commission advised that councils communicate to suppliers a clear set of supplier behaviour expectations and the associated consequences for non-compliance. The Commission also recommended that councils review their codes and policies on gifts and benefits to ensure they effectively communicate expected behaviour in a way that the intended audience can easily grasp.

At GMH Legal, our Principal Solicitors have represented clients sucessfully at ICAC, and have the knowledge and expertise to deal with any ICAC related matter.

Should you wish to arrange a consultation, please contact Mr George Hanna by email on ghanna@gmhlegal.com, or call us on (02) 9587 0458.