Conflict of Interest

Making a conflict of interest declaration

Identified conflicts of interest must be formally declared in the department’s Conflict of Interest Declaration system in eduPay (staff login required). The conflict of interest declaration form is accessible under the My Declarations title on the Employee Self-Service menu.

School staff are recommended to have an initial conversation with their principal or manager before making a conflict of interest declaration in eduPay. The purpose of this discussion is to:

• determine whether a conflict of interest exists and the risks that the conflict of interest may create
• define the type of conflict of interest (actual, potential or perceived)
• clarify the details of the conflict of interest to be declared
• consider the possible management strategies that should be employed to mitigate the risks created by the conflict of interest (refer to Managing conflicts of interest for details).

Following the discussion, if a conflict of interest is identified, employees must complete the conflict of interest declaration form in eduPay for the consideration of their manager or principal. The declaration form sets out specific instructions for completing and submitting the conflict of interest declaration, including proposing a conflict of interest management plan to mitigate the identified conflict of interest risks.

Declarations of no conflict can also be entered in eduPay to ensure a formal record is maintained.

Declaring the details of a conflict of interest

When making a conflict of interest declaration in eduPay, employees must first identify the reason they are making a declaration, based on the nature of their private interest and the public duties they are performing.

The conflict of interest declaration system provides the following categories to which a conflict of interest may relate to:

• family relationship to a Victorian government school or Early Learning and Childcare Centre – this may include an employee’s children or other family members attending the school as students, or where a member of the staff member’s family is employed
• consensual personal relationship – this relates to intimate relationships with a colleague in the school an employee works in where either a hierarchical relationship exists or where interaction at work cannot be avoided
• other employment – this relates to employment in another company, trade or business undertaken or proposed to be taken outside of the department
• conflict of duty – this relates to other employment undertaken for the department whereby an employee has 2 primary public duties
• recruitment and selection – this relates to conflicts that arise in the context of performing recruitment processes, including casual recruitment or appointments
• employee management – this relates to directly managing an employee with whom an employee has a family relationship or other close personal relationship, such as a friendship outside of the workplace
• procurement and contract management – this relates to conflicts of interest that arise in the context of undertaking procurement activities or managing supplier relationships
• declarable association – this includes any relationship to an individual, group or organisation alleged to have been involved in serious unlawful activity
• loyalty or bias – this includes any personal association with another individual, group or organisation, or cultural, social, religious or political beliefs, that would lead to an employee’s inability to be impartial or objective in the performance of their public duties
• other – this relates to any reason for a conflict of interest that is not covered by the above categories.

Once a school staff member has selected their conflict of interest category, they will be asked to describe the details of their conflict.

A strong conflict of interest declaration describes, in as much detail as possible:

• the private interest, including any names, businesses, other duties and so on, and the history of the employee’s relationship or affiliation to that person, company, organisation or role
• the public duties an employee performs that could be influenced, or seen to be influenced, by their private interest as described.

It’s important for employees to include as much information as possible to define the conflict.

Making a strong and detailed conflict of interest declaration is important because it:

• allows managers to understand the private interest more deeply and determine whether the management plan mitigates the risks
• helps managers to identify the private interest and support staff in managing it on an ongoing basis
• protects staff more effectively, if a question or complaint were ever to be raised about the conflict of interest
• demonstrates that staff have thought about and understand the risks associated with their conflict of interest and can identify appropriate management strategies to mitigate those risks.

If the details of a conflict of interest change, either because the nature of the private interest changes or because the duties change, employees will need to close their existing conflict of interest declaration and make a new declaration that reflects the current circumstances.

Declaration examples

The following examples can help employees to determine what details are important to include in their conflict of interest declaration.
The examples should not be used directly as templates – the unique circumstances of a private interest and duties need to be considered in determining the conflict of interest risk factors that relate to a staff member’s circumstances. Please consider these in accordance with the other guidance provided.

Ongoing management of an employee

Inadequate conflict of interest declaration:

'I am a principal and my partner works in my school.'

Strong conflict of interest declaration:

'I am the principal at [school] and my partner, [name], is employed in a full-time ongoing position at our school as a [role].

As principal, all staff report directly to me, and accordingly, I am responsible for employment decisions relating to [partner name] regarding their performance, pay, leave, training, and general allocation of duties. I would also be responsible for managing any complaints about them made by other staff or parents/children within our school community.'

Procurement

Inadequate conflict of interest declaration:

'My son’s company is quoting for works to be completed within our school.'

Strong conflict of interest declaration:

'I am the business manager at [School] and my son’s company, [Name of company], a local [trade], is one possible option for the school to approach for a quote to complete works within our school to build/fix [scope of works].

As the business manager, I am responsible for setting out the scope of the works and approaching local businesses for a quote. Based on the quotes received and other information they provide about availability, I would be responsible for making a recommendation to the principal for approval of the preferred supplier.'

Other employment

Inadequate conflict of interest declaration:

'On my days off, I work for a NDIS provider that provides services to children with a disability, but this doesn’t impact my work at school.'

Strong conflict of interest declaration:

'I currently work as an Education Support at [School] as 0.4FTE. On my days off, I work as a [profession] for [company] providing NDIS services to children with [condition].

As part of my role, there is the potential for children that I support at [School] to engage with our company and for me to provide [service] to them.'

Family relationship in Victorian government school

Inadequate conflict of interest declaration:

'I am a teacher, and my children attend the school I work at, although I am not their classroom teacher.'

Strong conflict of interest declaration:

'I am a classroom teacher at [School] and my two children, [Names] are students and are in [Year/grade].

My duties at school involve [grade/subjects taught] as well as involvement in [other school programs involved in]. I do not teach my children directly, although [Name] is in the same year level and [Name] is involved in the school’s [extra-curricular program] that I am responsible for.

Part of my duties might include providing discipline or behavioural consequences to students while on yard duty. As leader of the [program], I am also responsible for conducting try-outs and determining which students will make the [program] team each year.'

Declaring a conflict of interest in other ways

In some situations, employees may also need to declare a conflict of interest in a different way as well as in eduPay. These situations include the following.

Group or committee meetings (internal)

If school staff member identifies a conflict of interest in a meeting context, it is important that they immediately notify the group of their conflict of interest and discuss what an appropriate management step should be in that context. Appropriate management steps may include:

• ongoing monitoring of the conflict of interest if the risk level increases (for example, if sensitive information relevant to the private interest is discussed, or if a decision needs to be made on a matter relating to the private interest)
• limiting the staff member’s involvement in the meeting (for example, preventing them from offering information or advice, or voting on a motion)
• stepping out of the meeting for the duration of the item that relates to the conflict of interest
• the group ensuring that modifications are made to meeting notes/minutes and actions to ensure that sensitive information relating to the conflict of interest is not disclosed to the staff member
• relinquishing the staff member’s position in the group if the conflict of interest is so substantial that trust in the decisions of the group could be jeopardised if the school staff member continued to be involved.

If the meeting is a formal meeting, details of the conflict of interest declaration and agreed management plan should be recorded in the minutes as appropriate.

Once the meeting has concluded, school staff must also make a conflict of interest declaration in eduPay for transparency and to ensure that any ongoing potential for that conflict of interest to emerge again in a future meeting has an agreed plan.

For specific guidance on managing conflict of interest in school council meetings, refer to: School Council – Conduct and Conflict of Interest.

Boards, committees or groups (external)

A conflict of interest may arise during discussion in an inter-agency, inter-departmental or other external group or committee meeting. This might include Student Support Group meetings attended by professionals from other departments, or Network meetings attended by colleagues in other schools.

Declaration and management of any conflicts of interest identified in these meeting types are recommended to be performed in accordance with the above guidance for internal groups or committees.

Given the chair of that meeting may not necessarily be a department employee, the staff member may wish to gain approval of a written conflict of interest declaration and management plan over email, and attach record of that email in eduPay when making the conflict of interest declaration to their line manager. The manager/principal can then approve the conflict of interest declaration with the knowledge that proper consideration has been given to the conflict, and that it has been declared and managed appropriately.

Other reasons to make a declaration

Other employment applications – no conflict to declare

School staff are also required to make a conflict of interest declaration in eduPay to confirm they have no conflict to declare when they are proposing to engage in other employment.

Future employment

Future employment opportunities can also give rise to a conflict of interest where the new employment conflicts with responsibilities, duties or interests of the school staff member’s current role at the school or department.

School staff must inform their principal or manager as soon as they are offered employment where a conflict of interest or duty could arise for the remainder of their tenure in their current role. In doing so, school staff must outline any relationship between the job offered and their current duties, describing any possible conflict the new position raises.

If a conflict of interest or duty is identified, it should be declared and managed in accordance with this policy.

Reviewing and approving a conflict of interest declaration

Upon completing the conflict of interest declaration in eduPay, the principal or manager will receive a notification of the staff member’s proposed declaration for consideration.
Upon reviewing a conflict of interest declaration, principals and managers may:

• approve the conflict of interest declaration and proposed management plan
• push back the conflict of interest declaration, requesting further details about the private interest or public duties giving rise to the conflict of interest or suggesting additional management strategies in the conflict of interest management plan that may be required to effectively manage the conflict of interest.

Principal conflict of interest declaration and management plans will first be reviewed by the area executive director in eduPay, before final approval is sought from the regional director.