Conflict of Interest

What is a conflict of interest?

A conflict of interest occurs when your personal, professional, business, volunteer or financial interests, or those of someone close to you, could influence, or be perceived to influence, the decisions you make in your role at SCU.

Conflicts of interest can be:

• Actual – a real conflict exists
• Potential – a conflict may arise in the future
• Perceived – others could reasonably believe a conflict exists, even if it does not.

This includes circumstances where activities or interests outside of SCU may conflict with your responsibilities to the University.

If you are unsure whether something constitutes a conflict of interest, you should declare it.

All SCU employees and students are responsible for disclosing any:

• Direct or indirect pecuniary interests
• Material personal interests
• Actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest.

This includes interests held by close associates, such as:

• A spouse or partner
• Dependent children
• Family companies or trusts
• Other individuals whose interests may reasonably be connected to your own.

You must complete a Declaration of Interest:

• At least once each year, to disclose any actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest, or to confirm that none exist; and
• Whenever your circumstances change and a new conflict arises.

Declarations relate to the calendar year (1 January to 31 December).

The information you provide forms part of SCU's Conflict of Interest Register and will be available to your supervisor for review and management purposes.

The Declaration of Interest form is available in MyHR under the Forms section.

You can submit a new declaration at any time if your circumstances change.

Once submitted:

1. The declaration is sent to your Supervisor
2. Your Supervisor may discuss the matter with you to better understand the circumstances
3. Appropriate controls or management strategies will be identified where required
4. The declaration will be recorded in SCU's Conflict of Interest Register.

You should consider whether you have any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest in situations such as:

• Holding an interest in an SCU-related entity
• The employment of a family member or someone with whom you have a close personal relationship
• Associations with, or influence over, government or ministerial appointees
• Outside business interests that interact with SCU
• Other external transactions, appointments or roles connected to SCU
• Receiving gifts, benefits or hospitality
• Access to information that may provide a personal or business advantage
• Joint supervision or assessment arrangements where a personal relationship exists
• Any other circumstance that could impact, or appear to impact, your ability to act impartially

These examples are not exhaustive. If in doubt, declare the interest.

Having a conflict of interest is not unusual and does not mean you have done anything wrong.  What matters is that conflicts are disclosed early and managed appropriately.

If you identify a conflict:

1. Complete a Declaration of Interest form in MyHR
2. Discuss the matter with your Supervisor
3. Provide enough information for the conflict to be properly assessed
4. Work with your supervisor and People and Culture to implement any required controls.

Being transparent helps protect both you and the University.

Your conflict of interest declaration will be reviewed by your Supervisor and, where appropriate, People and Culture.

A decision will then be made about how the conflict should be managed. This may involve one or more of the recognised conflict management strategies:

• Register the conflict
• Restrict involvement in relevant decisions or activities
• Recruit an independent person to oversee or participate in the process
• Remove yourself from the situation
• Relinquish the private interest creating the conflict

The management approach will depend on the nature and level of risk associated with the conflict.

Failure to disclose and manage conflicts of interest may place both you and the University at risk.

For employees, non-compliance may result in disciplinary action, including misconduct processes.

Properly declaring and managing conflicts of interest:

• Supports fair, transparent and impartial decision-making
• Protects the integrity of University processes
• Maintains community confidence in SCU
• Reduces legal, financial and reputational risk
• Demonstrates accountability and ethical conduct
• Supports compliance with legislative and governance requirements.

Thank the employee for raising the matter. A declaration is not an admission of wrongdoing. It demonstrates integrity, transparency and compliance with University requirements.

You should:

1. Review the declaration promptly
2. Discuss the circumstances with the staff member
3. Assess whether the conflict is actual, perceived or potential
4. Consider the risk to the University, students, colleagues and stakeholders
5. Determine whether the conflict can be managed through appropriate controls
6. Record the agreed controls and any review arrangements in the form and finalise the form. This allows the employee to also view what the controls are
7. Seek advice from People and Culture if required.

Supervisors should consider:

Nature of the interest

• What is the relationship, activity or interest being declared?
• Is it financial, personal, professional, academic, research-related or another type of interest?
• Does the interest involve a family member, close friend, colleague, student or external organisation?

Connection to the employee's role

• Does the employee have decision-making authority in this area?
• Could the interest influence their judgement, decision-making or actions?
• Could others reasonably perceive that the interest may influence their decisions?

Risk and impact

• Could the interest result in personal benefit?
• Could it create an unfair advantage for any person or organisation?
• Could it affect recruitment, procurement, research, student outcomes, assessment, supervision or contract decisions?
• Could it damage confidence in the University's integrity or reputation? 

Frequency and duration

• Is this a one-off situation or an ongoing arrangement?
• Is the conflict temporary or long-term?
• Will the conflict require ongoing monitoring?

Usually a staff member continue performing their role if they have a conflict of interest.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically prevent a person from undertaking their duties. The key question is whether the conflict can be effectively managed and whether reasonable observers would have confidence in the controls that have been implemented.

Seek advice from People and Culture, Governance Services, or the relevant senior leader when:

• The conflict involves recruitment, promotion or performance processes
• There is potential financial gain
• The conflict involves procurement, contracts or suppliers
• Research integrity may be affected
• Student assessment or supervision may be compromised
• The employee disagrees with the proposed controls
• You are unsure whether the conflict can be adequately managed.

Supervisors should record:

• The nature of the declared conflict
• The risk assessment undertaken
• The controls agreed
• Who approved the controls
• Any review date
• Any changes to duties, reporting lines or decision-making responsibilities

Clear documentation protects both the employee and the University and demonstrates that the conflict has been appropriately managed.

Declaring a conflict of interest will not result in disciplinary action and is an expected part of working at SCU and demonstrates integrity and transparency. In most cases, the conflict can be managed through appropriate controls. Concerns typically arise when conflicts are not disclosed or when agreed controls are not followed.