Probity

Do YOU need Probity assistance?

We can assist with your probity requirements that arise with your Project.

‘Probity' is the evidence of ethical behaviour and is defined as 'integrity, uprightness, honesty'.To help ensure that a tender process is fair, transparent and defensible, an agencies need to ensure that all its internal procurement personnel involved in the procurement should behave in a way that complies with, or gives effect to, strict probity principles.

As such, the Department of Finance requires agencies to adhere to probity principles and practices, especially in procurement contracts and dealings.

For example when undertaking a procurement the procurement process should:

ensure compliance with the applicable legal and policy framework;
use an appropriately competitive process;
be fair and impartial;
have a process that is consist and transparent;
where you can, and do, appropriately identify and manage conflicts of interest;
ensure an appropriate information security and confidentiality arrangements; so as to obtain value for money.

We can assist by providing probity processes, advice, and guidance to ensure that you treat all tenderers fairly and that your tender process will survive challenge or an audit by the ANAO.

We can assist with your probity requirements such as:

Probity Plans
Probity Advice
Conflict of interest and risk management strategies
Probity briefings
Probity review and advice on managing probity risks
Probity issue assessment

We are committed to providing you with honest, practical, straightforward, and ethical advice about tender processes, contracts and other transactions with your tenderers. We are experts with years of experience handling government agencies and entities and we are well versed with Commonwealth Procurement Rules and procurement connected policies.

What You Need to Know About Probity Rules

The Department of Finance enumerated eleven key principles that underpin the ethics and probity in Commonwealth procurement. Underlying these principles, the procurement process and resulting contracts should be (in summary):

transparent and auditable,

provides checks and balances

be free from any conflict of interests

You need to exercise some caution in undertaking procurements, given that conduct by a delegate that breaches the Public Service Act 1999, could mean that the delegate faces civil or criminal penalties. Whilst this is not common, it's not unheard of either.