GOVERNING WITH INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Jeremy Rockliff MP, Premier

We are a Government with integrity, and the 2022-23 Budget delivers on our ongoing commitment to openness, fairness, and transparency.

The Budget will increase funding to the Integrity Commission, with an additional $900,000 to be invested into additional oversight, misconduct prevention, and education activity by the Integrity Commission.

The additional investment will allow improved investigative timeframes and assist with meeting investigative demands, along with allowing the IC to manage the State Government Lobbyist Register.

We are also investing $1.2 million across the Budget and Forward Estimates to provide the Health Complaints Commissioner with an additional Senior Investigative Officer, improving its ability to respond to inquiries and resolve complaints.

And, in recognition of the important role that Right to Information plays in promoting openness and transparency within Government, the Budget provides $500,000 over two years to improve and speed up RTI capability and practice in the State Service.

This will provide centralised training for skilled RTI practitioners, resulting in a smoother and more efficient process to action Right to Information requests.

We will also invest $1.3 million across the Forward Estimates to improve financial and performance audits in the Office of the Auditor-General.

These investments build on our strong record of openness and transparency since coming to Government, with more information released than any other Government in history, including monthly health, housing, and community services dashboards, along with regular disclosures.