Many of Tasmania’s 29 councils are failing to properly track gifts and donations to staff and elected members, raising concerns about potential corruption risks, a new consultation paper from the state’s Integrity Commission has revealed.
The Commission undertook a research project examining the offer and acceptance of gifts and donations in local government, finding that just 600 gift declarations had been completed over a period of more than a decade, with two councils having no gift register at all.
The resulting 22-page consultation paper noted that councils were legally required to update gift registers monthly, but found a “substantial number” had not been updated since 2022.
The Commission also found that the gift policies of most councils failed to adequately distinguish between gifts and donations, while nearly half fail to mention donations entirely.
“We identified that the current regulatory framework presents a number of misconduct risks, including a lack of consistency across policies and procedures and a lack of awareness about the potential impacts on good governance when local government employees, elected members or candidates accept gifts and donations,” the paper states.
The paper is seeking submissions from the local government sector, the public sector more broadly and members of the public on the potential misconduct risks that arise in the context of gifts and donations in local government and whether and how changes should be made to the current regulatory framework.
“We aim to ensure that these risks are communicated to the public and to promote discussion about potential solutions.”
Submissions will close on Monday, March 2.
