In the midst of Federal Government leadership ructions last week, academics and experts including Flinders’ Professor Adam Graycar met in Canberra to discuss public integrity.

The National Integrity Systems symposium covered a range of options for best practice in the design and working of a national anti-corruption agency and potentially a National Integrity Commission system for Australia.

Flinders University Professor Adam Graycar, from the College of Business, Government and Law, presented at the 21 August symposium.

He says system reforms are required to address falling confidence in the national approach to anti-corruption, and other issues.

For example, Australia has slipped eight points since 2012 on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index.

The symposium was told that of Australia’s 1.9 million federal and state public servants, only the Commonwealth has major sections of its workforce that are not subject to a sector-wide system of oversight for corrupt and high-risk misconduct cases.

As Australia’s fourth largest employer, some experts argue there are no logistical justifications for the Commonwealth to settle for a fragmented and inadequate system that does not thoroughly support mandatory reporting and oversight.

The Canberra symposium was organised as part of the Australian Research Council-funded Linkage project, ‘Strengthening Australia’s National Integrity System: Priorities for Reform’ and was organised by Griffith University and Transparency International Australia in collaboration with Flinders University, University of the Sunshine Coast, the New South Wales Ombudsman, Integrity Commissioner (Queensland), Crime and Corruption Commission, Queensland, and the Integrity Commission, Tasmania.

Professor Graycar is also taking his political expertise to the UK this week, delivering a seminar at Oxford University on August 31, on corruption in wealthy countries.