Integrity at Cladding Safety Victoria

Cladding Safety Victoria is committed to maintaining a strong integrity culture.

Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV) is committed to maintaining a strong integrity culture and to being accountable for the way in which it delivers its activities in the public interest. Information about particular processes that are in place to support integrity at Cladding Safety Victoria is available on this page.

Fraud and corruption

Cladding Safety Victoria has zero tolerance for fraudulent and corrupt activity.

Fraud involves dishonest conduct causing actual or potential loss and involves deceptive behaviour. Corruption occurs when someone in a position of authority uses their position for their own personal gain or advantage. Some examples of fraudulent or corrupt activity include bribery, theft of money or property, collusion between suppliers, falsifying records and reports, improper use of funds and undisclosed conflicts of interest.

If you have any concerns about suspected fraud, corruption or improper conduct relating to CSV or CSV projects, you have a number of options for making a report.

Direct to Cladding Safety Victoria

You can make a report directly to Cladding Safety Victoria by sending the details to csvintegrity@claddingsafety.vic.gov.au.

Stopline

Stopline is an independent hotline where you can seek advice about a matter of concern or make a report. Reports can be made to Stopline using a webform, by phone, email or mail. You may choose to report anonymously and choose how much of your personal information is shared with Cladding Safety Victoria.

You can call Stopline on 1300 304 550 or visit the CSV Stopline website.

Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC)

IBAC is the Victorian agency responsible for preventing and exposing public sector corruption. Reports about Cladding Safety Victoria can be made directly to IBAC (anonymously if you wish).

Mail: GPO Box 24234, Melbourne, VIC 3001 Phone: 1800 422 284 Website: www.ibac.vic.gov.au/reporting-corruption/report

You can also seek protections under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2012 by making a public interest disclosure to IBAC. Further information about public interest disclosures is available on their website .

Your personal information when making a report

Any personal information you share with Cladding Safety Victoria or consent to be shared with Cladding Safety Victoria will be collected by Cladding Safety Victoria in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and Public Records Act 1973.

Cladding Safety Victoria collects this information to:

fully consider, assess and investigate (as applicable) the matter/s raised in your report
keep you informed about actions taken, as appropriate and subject to confidentiality provisions
undertake data analysis and reporting.

If you choose not to share your information with Cladding Safety Victoria, this may limit Cladding Safety Victoria’s ability to fully assess the matter/s raised in your report and to keep you informed about Cladding Safety Victoria’s response to your report.

The information you provide to Cladding Safety Victoria may be shared:

with Victorian Government departments or entities where CSV is required to do so
with professional practitioners where CSV needs to seek advice on or external investigation of matters raised
with other third parties for assurance purposes (such as audits) or where it is obliged to provide the information legally or in accordance with government or CSV policy.

Gifts, benefits and hospitality

Cladding Safety Victoria takes a strong position on gifts, benefits and hospitality to preserve the integrity of decision-making and to avoid possible conflicts of interest. Staff are not able to accept any offers of gifts, benefits or hospitality and must declare any offers made. All stakeholders, including suppliers, are discouraged from making offers of gifts, benefits or hospitality to Cladding Safety Victoria employees.

Policy

Our policy and processes set out our standards for the management of gifts, benefits and hospitality.

Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Policy PDF 161.94 KB (opens in a new window)

Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Policy

1) Policy objective

CSV is committed to creating and maintaining a strong integrity culture and to being accountable for the way in which it delivers its activities in the public interest. The purpose of this policy is to outline CSV’s position on responding to offers of and providing gifts, benefits and hospitality in support of the principles of integrity, impartiality and accountability.

2) Policy scope

This policy applies to members of the CSV Board and its sub-committees while acting in the capacity of their CSV role, all CSV executive and staff, and business associates who deliver services to or on behalf of CSV.

3) Key policy principles

3.1 CSV has a policy of zero-dollar amount tolerance and all Board members, executives and staff (hereafter referred to as ‘CSV parties’) must not accept any type of gift or benefit, including token gifts or donations, unless a gift meets the definition of a ceremonial gift and cannot be declined without causing offence. Offers of hospitality must not be accepted unless they are specifically excluded under the definition in Section 5.

3.2 All CSV parties are required to decline and declare any offer of gifts, benefits or hospitality as soon as they arise.

3.3 Business associates must not offer CSV parties any gifts or benefits, either directly or indirectly, and offers of hospitality must be limited to offers of basic hospitality identified as exclusions to the policy in Section 5. This includes making donations to a charity or other organisation on behalf of CSV or a CSV party. Business associates also must not take any action to entice or obtain any unfair or improper advantage.

3.4 All people to whom this policy applies have a duty to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of integrity, impartiality and accountability in responding to and providing gifts, benefits and hospitality.

3.5 All people to whom this policy applies must not, for themselves or others, seek or solicit gifts, benefits or hospitality that could reasonably be seen as connected with their employment, appointment to or engagement with CSV.

3.6 All people to whom this policy applies must refuse bribes or inducements and report any attempts of bribery or inducement in accordance with CSV’s procedures.

3.7 In responding to or providing gifts, benefits or hospitality, CSV procedures must be followed.

3.8 A register of gifts, benefits and hospitality will be maintained and published by CSV to support monitoring, assessment and reporting requirements. The information in these registers will be used in accordance with the provisions of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) and the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).

3.9 All members of decision-making bodies and committees will be asked to state whether their entries in the gifts, benefits and hospitality register are complete at the start of each meeting.

3.10 At the end of each financial year, all executives and staff will complete an attestation confirming that their gifts, benefits and hospitality declarations are current and accurate.

3.11 All people to whom this policy applies have an active duty to report at the earliest opportunity any instance where they become aware that another person may have breached this policy. If there is a suspicion of fraudulent or corrupt conduct, this must be reported through the process outlined in the Fraud and Corruption Control Framework.

3.12 Breaches of this policy will be reported immediately to the Chief Operating Officer (or in the case of a breach by the Chief Operating Officer, to the Chief Executive Officer) and will be addressed under the relevant disciplinary policy or breach of contract procedure. A policy breach may constitute a breach of a binding code of conduct and/or fraudulent or corrupt conduct and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment or contract, a report to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and/or a report of criminal conduct. Policy breaches will also be reported to the next scheduled meeting of the CSV Board’s Risk and Audit Committee.

3.13 The CEO will report at least annually to the Risk and Audit Committee on the administration and quality control of CSV’s gifts, benefits and hospitality processes and register.

4) Roles and responsibilities

4.1 Board members are responsible for setting a strong integrity culture that supports transparency around gifts, benefits and hospitality, approving CSV’s policy approach to managing gifts, benefits and hospitality, and for demonstrating accountability by declaring all offers of gifts, benefits and hospitality in accordance with CSV procedures.

4.2 Risk and Audit Committee members are responsible for monitoring the internal controls and risk management processes that relate to gifts, benefits and hospitality.

4.3 The Integrity Committee is responsible for monitoring the Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Register and discussing related strategic issues that inform policy and procedure reviews and communications regarding gifts, benefits and hospitality.

4.4 Executives and management are responsible for ensuring the implementation of this policy and related procedures through regular communication, staff training and monitoring of compliance. This includes the communication of CSV’s policy position to business associates. They are also responsible for supporting CSV’s integrity culture through their own behaviour and conduct, through the active management of gifts, benefits and hospitality risks, and by addressing policy breaches in an appropriate manner.

Executives and management must:

actively support and protect employees who speak up in good faith about a potential breach of this policy, and support and protect those who directly manage them
respond in a constructive and timely manner to the information provided and ensure a due, expedient and fair process in determining whether an actual breach has occurred
take decisive action in accordance with the Appropriate Workplace Behaviour Policy, including possible disciplinary action, against anyone who is found to have discriminated against or victimised an employee who speaks up in good faith. 4.5 All people to whom this policy applies are responsible for ensuring their own conduct meets the required standard.

5) Key definitions

5.1 Accountability means that individuals are accountable for appropriately responding to and providing gifts, benefits and hospitality. Managers are accountable for modelling good practice, promoting awareness and overseeing their direct reports’ management of gifts, benefits and hospitality.

5.2 Benefit means preferential treatment, privileged access, favours or other advantage offered to an individual. They may include invitations to sporting, cultural or social events, access to discounts and loyalty programs, and promises of a new job. The value of benefits may be difficult to define in dollars, but as they are valued by the individual, they may be used to influence the individual’s behaviour.

5.3 Business associate is an individual, group or organisation that CSV has, or plans to have, a business relationship with or who may seek commercial or other advantage.

5.4 Business benefit means a benefit that will legitimately enhance the conduct of official business or other legitimate goals of the public sector organisation, the public sector or the State.

5.5 Ceremonial gift means official gifts provided as part of the culture and practices of communities and government, within Australia or internationally. Ceremonial gifts are usually provided when conducting business with official delegates or representatives from another organisation, community or foreign government. Ceremonial gifts do not include offers made to thank CSV staff for presenting at industry events. Under no circumstances can a gift offered by a lobbyist be considered as a ceremonial gift.

5.6 Gift means free or discounted items, and any item that would generally be seen by the public as a gift, including items of high value (e.g. artwork, jewellery or expensive pens), low value (e.g. small bunch of flowers) and consumables (e.g. chocolates). They may be offered directly to a staff member or presented as the result of a random-draw process (e.g. a door prize or raffle at an event/conference).

5.7 Hospitality means the friendly reception and treatment of guests. Hospitality may range from purchased tea or coffee at a cafe meeting to expensive restaurant meals and sponsored travel and accommodation. For the purpose of this policy, the following types of hospitality are excluded from this definition, may be accepted and do not need to be declared:

hospitality offered by a Victorian public sector organisation, where the reason for the CSV party’s attendance is consistent with CSV’s functions and objectives and with the CSV party’s role (e.g. a meeting or forum)
hospitality offered at an official business event where CSV has paid for the Board member, executive or staff member’s attendance (e.g. a training session)
basic hospitality offered at a work site where these amenities are generally available to others (e.g. a coffee urn in a tea room). The following type of hospitality is excluded from this definition and may be accepted, but does need to be declared:
hospitality offered for an official business event where the Board member, executive or staff member’s attendance has been approved, but CSV has not paid for their attendance (e.g. a conference at which the CSV party is presenting). Under no circumstances can hospitality offered by a lobbyist be accepted under the aforementioned exemptions.

5.8 Impartiality means that individuals place the public interest above their private interests when carrying out their duties. They refuse offers of gifts, benefits and hospitality that could reasonably be perceived as influencing them or undermining the integrity of their organisation.

5.9 Integrity means to strive to earn and sustain public trust and avoid any real or apparent conflicts of interest when offering or responding to gifts, benefits and hospitality.

5.10 A lobbyist is a person, company or organisation who works on behalf of a third-party client to influence government outcomes. Lobbyists seek to influence public sector employees or politicians to support an outcome favourable to their third-party client. This does not include:

charitable, religious and non-profit organisations that represent their members’ interests
people who represent the personal affairs of their family or friends
members of trade delegations visiting Australia
a person who is a member of a regulated profession who deals with government as part of their day-to-day work
a member of a profession who occasionally makes representations to government on behalf of others as part of what they do in their job (e.g. doctors, lawyers or accountants). 5.11 Official business event is an event hosted by an external, non–public sector organisation where it is in the public interest for the CSV party to attend and the CSV party’s attendance has been approved (e.g. seminars, conferences and training sessions).

5.12 Token gift means those gifts offered in business situations by organisations to representatives of an agency. Token gifts are often mass produced, not generally given as personal gifts, have no significant or lasting value. Examples include caps, stationery, coffee mugs, etc.

Conflict of Interest Policy
Fraud and Corruption Control Policy
Appropriate Workplace Behaviour Policy
Privacy and Information Security Policy
Risk Management Policy

7) Associated documents, guidelines and procedures

Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Procedure for Board Members
Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Procedure for Staff, Contractors and Consultants
CSV Board Charter
Risk and Audit Committee Charter
Reward and Recognition Framework
Procurement Framework

8) Legislation and external documents

Cladding Safety Victoria Act 2020 (Vic.)
Public Administration Act 2004 (Vic.)
Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012 (Vic.)
Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic.)
Public Records Act 1973 (Vic.)
Code of Conduct for Victorian Public Sector Employees
Code of Conduct for Directors of Victorian Public Entities
Supplier Code of Conduct
VPSC Model Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Policy
VPSC Model Conflict of Interest Policy

Register of reportable gift offers

We must keep a register of all reportable gift offers and publish a de-identified copy for each financial year that complies with privacy laws.

Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Register 2024-25 PDF 89.63 KB (opens in a new window)

Date offered	Recipient: Note that all declined GBH offer recipients are de-identified in accordance with the VPSC guideline	Donor organisation	Position of offeror	Reason offered	Business associate (Yes/No)	Description of the offer of gift/ benefit/ hospitality	Estimated value	Decision regarding offer	Business reason for acceptance (if applicable)
30/10/2024	Chief Executive Officer	Westpac	Public Sector Victoria Relationship Manager	Learning and networking event	Yes	Invitation to Westpac Economic Luncheon with Chief Economist	$98.19	Accepted hospitality at the event	Official business event relevant to understanding economic trends impacting CSV
06/11/2024	Legal CounselActing Senior, Procurement and Contracts Officer	Sparx Solutions	Human Resources and Marketing Manager	Annual Christmas party celebration with clients	Yes	Invitation to Annual Christmas Party at Yarra Botanica	$50.00	Declined	N/A
03/12/2024	Office Manager and EA to the CEO	Resolve XO	Partner	Christmas gift	Yes	Hamper	$50-100	Declined	N/A
09/12/2024	Office Manager and EA to the CEO	GPT	Property Manager	Christmas gift	Yes	Hamper	$50-100	Declined	N/A
17/12/2024	Director, Cladding RectificationSenior Manager, Contracts and Delivery	Case Meallin	Director	Christmas gift	Yes	Donation to two charities - Red Nose Australia and Cure Cancer - on behalf of CSV in lieu of Christmas gift	Unknown	Declined (there was no opportunity for CSV to accept or refuse the offer)	N/A
23/12/2024	Director, Cladding Rectification	RMG	Director	Included with Christmas card	Yes	Branded biro pen	$1.00	Accepted	Due to low value of gift, a declaration form was not completed
18/03/2025	Chief Executive Officer	Law Institute of Victoria	Head of Learning Transformation	Thank you for presentation at a forum run by the Law Institute	No	Voucher	$50.00	Declined (returned subsequent to event)	N/A
03/03/2025	Chief Financial Officer	Westpac	Lending Service Manager, CIB Operations	Donation on behalf of CSV if the CFO completed a customer survey	Yes	Donation to Ronald MacDonald House	$20.00	Declined (survey not completed)	N/A
03/03/2025	Chief Operating Officer	CSV Board Member	CSV Board Member	Learning and networking event	No	Invitation to attend the Australian British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) International Women’s Day breakfast	$195.00	Accepted hospitality at the event	Official business event relevant to women’s leadership development and opportunities for staff transitioning to new roles

Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality Register 2023-24 PDF 183.94 KB (opens in a new window)

Date offered	Recipient: Note that all declined GBH offer recipients are de-identified in accordance with the VPSC guidelines	Donor organisation	Reason offered	Description of the offer of gift/benefit/hospitality	Estimated value	Decision regarding offer
05/07/2023	Chief Executive Officer	Australian Institute of Building Surveyors (AIBS)	Thank you gift for CSV presentation to AIBS members	Haighs chocolates and AIBS keep cup	$60.00	Accepted and donated to CSV staff event
08/09/2023	Executive Director, Program Delivery	10th International Risk Engineering Conference	Thank you gift for keynote CSV presentation at a conference	Bottle of wine	$53.00	Accepted and donated to CSV staff event
14/12/2023	Director, Cladding Rectification	RMG	Included with Christmas card	Branded biro pen	$1.00	Accepted
20/12/2023	Senior Manager, Contracts and Delivery	General Industry Surveillance (GIS)	End of year thank you gift to team	Favourites chocolates	$15.00	Accepted and donated to CSV staff event
2/04/2024	Executive Director, Program Delivery + one senior management colleague	Forefront Events	Senior technology leaders	Digital Workplace Summit VIC all day event including interactive panel discussions, roundtables & networking sessions	$3,990.00	Declined
22/04/2024	Chief Executive Officer	Westpac	Invitation to attend event	CEDA Victoria State Budget Address 2024, with Treasurer Tim Pallas presenting	$188.11	Accepted

Further information

For further information about our gifts, benefits and hospitality policy, please contact us.

Governance

Updated 3 February 2026

Economic Growth Statement

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Integrity at Cladding Safety Victoria

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Fraud and corruption

Direct to Cladding Safety Victoria

Stopline

Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC)

Your personal information when making a report

Gifts, benefits and hospitality

Policy

1) Policy objective

2) Policy scope

3) Key policy principles

4) Roles and responsibilities

5) Key definitions

7) Associated documents, guidelines and procedures

8) Legislation and external documents

Register of reportable gift offers

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On this page

Fraud and corruption

Direct to Cladding Safety Victoria

Stopline

Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC)

Your personal information when making a report

Gifts, benefits and hospitality

Policy

1) Policy objective

2) Policy scope

3) Key policy principles

4) Roles and responsibilities

5) Key definitions

6) Related policies

7) Associated documents, guidelines and procedures

8) Legislation and external documents

Register of reportable gift offers

Further information