Statement of Business Ethics
This Statement of Business Ethics outlines the standards and expectations for ethical conduct in all business activities with the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality & Sport (DCITHS).
1. Introduction
The Statement sets out the mutual commitments of the Department and external parties engaged in business with us. In this Statement, reference to the Department or DCITHS includes all DCITHS staff (excluding Destination NSW), and the staff of the independent agencies that have opted to utilise DCITHS procurement policies through a Memorandum of Understanding.
Compliance with this Statement supports ethical, fair, and transparent relationships between DCITHS and suppliers. By upholding these standards, we create a trusted environment that advances our mutual objectives in a responsible and ethical manner.
For the purposes of this Statement, the term suppliers refers to all external parties, including contractors, consultants, tenderers, business partners, and sub-contractors. This Statement should be read in conjunction with the NSW Government Supplier Code of Conduct.
2. What you can expect from the Department
At DCITHS, we are committed to high standards of integrity and ethics in procurement. Suppliers can expect that we will:
- Comply with relevant laws, regulations, policies, government guidelines including the NSW Government Procurement Policy Framework. Key DCITHS policies can be found here.
- Encourage fair and open competition to achieve value for money (noting that this does not always mean the lowest price).
- Conduct all business in an honest, transparent, fair and impartial manner.
- Identify and manage actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest.
- Prohibit acceptance of gifts, gratuities and hospitality without a reasonable business purpose or during any procurement process.
- Disclose contracts and variations as required under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW).
- Protect confidential and proprietary information throughout the procurement process, adhering to confidentiality requirements.
- Respond promptly and fairly to feedback and complaints.
- Make all reasonable efforts to prevent modern slavery within supply chains, promoting fair and ethical workplaces free from exploitation.
- Consider environmental sustainability in procurement decisions, including considerations around sustainable resources and circular economy.
- Ensure all decisions are made in a fair and objective manner and subject to proper record keeping and accountability practices.
3. What we expect of suppliers
We expect suppliers engaging with DCITHS to:
- Operate ethically, conducting all dealings honestly, safely, and responsibly.
- Comply with applicable laws, regulations, policies, procedures, including the NSW Government Procurement Policy Framework.
- Ensure that those providing labour hire and professional services contractors and consultants are informed of and comply with the Supplier Code of Conduct and related agency policies and procedures.
- Maintain accurate and complete records relating to work undertaken for or on behalf of DCITHS.
- Respect confidentiality, protect sensitive information, and avoid unauthorised disclosures, reporting any compromises or disclosures of DCITHS data as soon as practical.
- Never offer gifts, benefits, hospitality that is not related to a proper business purpose for DCITHS or during a DCITHS procurement process.
- Declare and manage actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest as soon as identified and ensure declarations are provided in writing.
- Ensure fair and ethical workplaces, actively working to prevent modern slavery in line with the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW).
- Encourage employees to undertake training on ethical practices, modern slavery prevention, and Work, Health and Safety compliance.
- Actively support the NSW Government social and sustainability priorities.
- Promptly report any suspected fraud or corruption involving DCITHS to the appropriate authorities or directly to DCITHS.
- Act with care and use DCITHS resources in a proper, ethical and efficient manner
- Understand that DCITHS employees cannot endorse or make public comment about suppliers’ products or services.
- Act in the public interest and not engage in any conduct which would bring the Department or public sector into disrepute.
4. Principles of ethical conduct
All DCITHS information should be treated as confidential unless otherwise indicated or already lawfully in the public domain. This includes safeguarding all business-related documents and sensitive information throughout the procurement process, ensuring secure storage and preventing unauthorised dissemination.
In business relationships we will respect each other’s confidential information and intellectual property rights and will formally negotiate any access, license or use of intellectual property in accordance with the NSW Government IP Framework.
DCITHS holds itself accountable for responsible and transparent use of public resources. We maintain detailed records of procurement processes and decisions. All suppliers and partners are expected to uphold these principles by providing accurate information, communicating promptly about any issues that may affect performance, and cooperating in transparent reporting practices.
Communication between DCITHS and suppliers should be direct and clear, fostering an environment of accountability and reducing the risk of perceived undue influence in our business relationships.
Employees and contractors at DCITHS must not solicit or accept any financial or non-financial benefits, as this can lead to conflicts of interest or perceptions of favouritism or preferential treatment. Suppliers are also prohibited from offering gifts, benefits or hospitality to DCITHS employees that is not related to a proper business purpose for DCITHS or during a DCITHS procurement process. For instance, if any gift, benefit or hospitality does not have a clear business purpose in ensuring that a contract, event, investment or other business is delivering DCITHS business outcomes for NSW, it should not be offered or solicited.
Any attempt to improperly influence DCITHS employees through offers will be declared and reported to authorities, potentially leading to serious penalties.
All DCITHS staff and suppliers are required to actively identify and promptly disclose any actual, perceived, or potential conflicts of interest. If any interest, whether financial, professional, or personal, could influence or be perceived to influence impartial decision-making, it must be reported to DCITHS immediately.
For example, a potential conflict that may arise is if a supplier’s employee has a personal connection to a DCITHS staff member, or if a supplier awards subcontracting work to a business owned by a relative of someone on their own management team.
DCITHS expects suppliers to prioritise transparency by disclosing conflicts as soon as they are identified, allowing for timely resolution. When in doubt, it is always better to report a potential conflict, actual or perceived, rather than risk compromising the fairness of the procurement process.
When engaging in a sponsorship with DCITHS, suppliers must specify the value and benefits that will be offered to the NSW Government. All sponsorship arrangements must be transparent and uphold DCITHS's commitment to ethical practices, ensuring no perception of improper influence on decision-making. All sponsorships require a documented assessment framework to support decision making. The NSW Government Sponsorship Policy further outlines the requirements and expectations of suppliers and includes mandatory requirements for agencies involved in sponsorship arrangements.
Suppliers are required to maintain a fair and respectful workplace, free from exploitation, mistreatment, or abuse. They are also expected to take reasonable steps to prevent modern slavery, as outlined in the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW).
Suppliers are required to provide a safe working environment and must comply with all applicable Work, Health and Safety laws, regulations and obligations.
Suppliers must always engage in respectful workplace behaviour free from bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination.
DCITHS expects all suppliers to adhere to relevant international and Australian standards that ensure ethical, compliant, and risk-aware practices. This includes commitments to responsible information security management, robust risk controls, anti-corruption efforts, and sustainable environmental practices.
Suppliers are expected to actively implement and uphold these standards as part of their operations with DCITHS. Compliance with these standards is critical for fostering a secure, ethical, and transparent working relationship with DCITHS.
5. Implications of non-compliance with this Statement
Suppliers should be aware that failure to adhere to the ethical standards outlined in this statement and the NSW Government Supplier Code of Conduct, along with any corrupt or unethical behaviour, may result in serious consequences, including the consequences outlined in Section 3 of the NSW Government Supplier Code of Conduct.
6. Public Interest Disclosures
At DCITHS, we encourage employees, contractors, suppliers, and volunteers to report any serious wrongdoing they encounter within the Department. Reporting can help ensure accountability and foster integrity across our operations.
Protections are provided for individuals to disclose matters in the public interest, in line with the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 (PID Act). Reports made under this Act are handled confidentially, and individuals are safeguarded from any detrimental action resulting from their disclosure. For more information, please refer to the DCITHS Public Interest Disclosure Policy.
7. Reporting corrupt conduct
If you are concerned about a possible breach of the NSW Government Supplier Code of Conduct and/or this Statement of Business Ethics, which relates to the DCITHS, this can be directed internally to:
- the Ethics & Integrity Team by emailing ethics@dciths.nsw.gov.au.
- the Department’s external Integrity Hotline (includes an anonymous report option). This service is provided by Core Integrity and reports can be made by:
- Phone: 1800 303 406
- Online: Use the online portal or scan the QR Code:
- Email: DCITHSIntegrityHotline@coreintegrity.com.au
- Post: PO Box 730, Milsons Point 1565
8. External reporting channels
If you do not want to report your matter internally, you can report via the following external channels. To find out more about the external channels and how to report you can visit the serious complaints section on the NSW Government buy.nsw website.