Governance
Health Services and Support Organisations are part of the NSW Public Sector and its governance and accountability framework. Boards must have effective governance and risk management processes in place to ensure compliance with this wider public sector framework.
The Clinical Excellence Commission complies with the Governance Framework of NSW Ministry of Health. The Corporate Governance Attestation Statement describes the corporate governance arrangements in place at the CEC.
Fraud prevention and control must be the responsibility of all staff and all levels of management, and not just selected people or units within the CEC. The CEC acknowledges that our staff are the best defence against fraudulent activity and play a critical role in preventing and detecting fraud. Staff are encouraged to familiarise themselves with this policy and to be aware of the role they can play.
Staff and external contractors are expected to behave ethically and comply with the NSW Health Code of Conduct, high standards of behaviour are also expected from those who engage with CEC on a commercial basis. Compliance with this Statement of Business Ethics is a condition of contracting with the CEC, including any external party involved in providing services to the CEC, with or without reimbursement.
Performance Agreement
The principal purpose of the Performance Agreement is to clearly set out the service and performance expectations for the funding and other support provided to the Clinical Excellence Commission, to ensure the provision of safe, high quality, patient-centred healthcare services.
The Agreement articulates clear direction, responsibility and accountability across the NSW Health system for the delivery of NSW Government and NSW Health priorities. Additionally, it specifies the service delivery and performance requirements expected of the CEC that will be monitored in line with the NSW Health Performance Framework.
Through execution of the Agreement, the Secretary agrees to provide the funding and other support to the CEC as outlined in this Performance Agreement.
Privacy Annual Reporting
The Clinical Excellence Commission is committed to ensuring the privacy and confidentiality of all personal information and personal health information it holds, in compliance with the requirements of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection (PPIP) Act 1998, the Health Records and Information Privacy (HRIP) Act 2002 and the NSW Health Privacy Manual for Health Information. It is a statutory requirement that public agencies publish details privacy matters as part of their annual reporting obligations.
Public Interest Disclosures
The Clinical Excellence Commission is committed to building a ‘speak up’ culture whereby public officials (persons employed by the Clinical Excellence Commission) are encouraged to report conduct that they reasonably believe involves wrongdoing. We are committed to responding appropriately to all reports of serious wrongdoing.
The NSW Health Public Interest Disclosures Policy Directive (PD2023_026) is the PID Policy for the Clinical Excellence Commission. The PID Policy sets out how we manage reports of serious wrongdoing, and the support and protection provided to staff when reports of serious wrongdoing are received.
Under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 (NSW) (PID Act), serious wrongdoing includes:
- Corrupt conduct
- Serious maladministration
- A privacy contravention
- A serious and substantial waste of public money
- A government information contravention.
Any staff member (including a contractor, a sub-contractor or a volunteer) with knowledge of, or who witnesses serious wrongdoing, should make a confidential report about the wrongdoing. A list of the Clinical Excellence Commission’s Disclosure Officers is available on the NSW Health Disclosure Officers web page.