Public Accountability

The Ombudsman Act 1972 (SA) provides for the appointment of an Ombudsman whose role is to resolve complaints arising from actions & decisions of government agencies.

The Ombudsman can also investigate complaints made against Universities including the University of Adelaide. Complaints that can be investigated by the Ombudsman include any action or inaction by the University relating to University administration.

This means that as a staff member of the University, actions undertaken in your University capacity could be investigated by the Ombudsman. It could also mean that you may be contacted by the Ombudsman to provide evidence or participate in an investigation - you must comply with the Ombudsman's requests.

For more information about the Ombudsman please refer to the Ombudsman Act 101 or to the legislation.

The Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 (SA) provides for the appointment of an Auditor-General as the independent auditor of the South Australian public sector.

The Auditor-General contributes to public sector financial accountability and performance and is responsible for the audit and examination of state and local government agencies.

The University is an agency under the Act and is subject to audits performed by the Auditor General.

For more information about the Auditor General SA please visit the South Australian Auditor-General website.

Annual Reporting

In accordance with the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 (SA), the University of Adelaide must comply with its reporting requirements as outlined in the Treasurer's Instruction 19 - Financial Reporting and submit an Annual Report.

The Annual report must include the University's Annual Financial Statements, Budgetary Control & Reporting and Maintenance of Financial Records.

For more information about the University's financial reporting obligations please see the requirements set out in the Treasurer's Instruction.

As a member of the University of Adelaide community you are a Public Officer under the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA). All University Officers, employees (including those seconded to other organisations), titleholders, consultants and contractors providing services to the University are considered "Public Officers".

As a Public Officer you have a responsibility to report all incidents of apparent or actual Fraud or Corruption in the workplace. 

Complaints or reports under the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA) should be made to the Office for Public Integrity. For more information about your reporting obligations or how to make a report please refer to the University's ICAC resources for Public Officers webpage and Reporting to Office for Public Integrity FAQs.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is a government organisation that manages a register of charities in Australia. The University of Adelaide is on the ACNC's Charity Register and must comply with a number of ongoing obligations to remain on the list.

These obligations include;

• Record Keeping;
• Annual Reporting;
• Meeting Governance Standards; and
• Complying with other obligations and external conduct standards.

For more information about the ACNC and the University's obligations as a registered charity, please visit the ACNC website.

The University has a number of funding agreements with bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Research Council (ARC) as well as block funding and research grants.

Many of these funding agreements have terms relating to the expenditure of the funds and the University must comply with these for the continuation of the agreements.

For more information about University policies and procedures for funding agreements please visit the University's Research Grants, Contracts and Consultancies Policy and the Contracts and Agreements Policy.

The Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) establishes two types of offences relating to the bribery of Public Officials in any Australian or international jurisdiction:

• Providing a bribe or a gift to a public official in any Australian or international jurisdiction in order to influence their decision;
• Falsifying any sort of accounting document to conceal a bribe

There are significant penalties for individuals (including imprisonment) and for the University for any contravention of the Act. More information about Anti-Bribery Legislation and Penalties is available here.

Transparency International

Transparency International is an independent international organisation with a mission to advance accountability, integrity and transparency globally. The organisation has assisted in the creation of anti-corruption conventions and held companies accountable for corruption both locally and internationally.

Transparency International also collects data on corruption and produces documents such as the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index which illustrates corruption globally. There is also an anti-corruption glossary which provides more information about different types of corruption to be aware of and other key terms around prevention.