Investigation Sphynx: An investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct surrounding the QPS’s decision to enter into the Stones Corner lease

Summary

The report's own summary: Executive summary, page 5

Findings, opinions and statements 1

Allegations are not findings. A commission's finding or opinion of corrupt conduct or misconduct is not a finding that a person is guilty of a criminal offence, and the commissions say so in their reports.

1. No finding

   No finding

   Any interference with the right to privacy and reputation is lawful, being authorised by sections 64 and 64A of the CC Act and is not arbitrary: the report focuses primarily on systemic issues and makes no finding about the conduct or culpability of any person.

   Report, page 31

Recommendations 9

1. Recommendation 1

   • Conduct reviews or audits of leasing processes to examine compliance with proper policies, procedures and delegation frameworks. • Deliver updated training following process change to ensure relevant employees are informed. • Communicate the updated leasing process and QPS strategic leasing plan to all impacted employees to ensure awareness and compliance, including how the policy interacts with other mechanisms such as financial delegations, procurement and contract management, ministerial approval and Cabinet Budget Review Committee (CBRC) process.

   Report, page 25

2. Recommendation 2

   • Undertake a comprehensive review of the Property and Planning team, to ensure its resourcing profile supports the full functions of the QPS. • Consider whether reviews of other areas of the QPS that were transitioned from the Public Safety Business Agency are required to ensure their resourcing profile supports service delivery and delegations are at an appropriate level.

   Report, page 25

3. Recommendation 3

   • Update its Corporate Governance Manual to ensure it includes a definition for what matters may require urgent consideration. The QPS should maintain records of urgent considerations and consider conducting annual reviews or audits of these matters to determine if they appropriately met the relevant definition.

   Report, page 25

4. Recommendation 4

   • Deliver education and awareness sessions for applicable staff appointed to new committees, including processes involved for a submission (including when Ministerial or CBRC approval is required), and expectations of the committee when making a submission.

   Report, page 25

5. Recommendation 5

   • Ensure all employees with financial delegations complete financial delegation training when appointed (substantive or acting) to a role with financial delegations, with regular ongoing refresher training.

   Report, page 25

6. Recommendation 6

   • Review other governance and management training courses available for staff to aid their development into senior roles, such as those provided by the Queensland Ombudsman, the Public Sector Commission and the Queensland Treasury Corporation. • Require all ELT members (substantive and acting) to complete the Company Directors Course and other governance and management training. • Consider providing regular refresher training to all senior staff on governance.

   Report, page 25

7. Recommendation 7

   • The QPS’s updated committee submission form template should be reviewed to include formal sign off, endorsement (by the responsible person or position submitting the paper) and comments by each committee member (including subject matter experts), and a requirement to attach proof of consultation with subject matter experts (as relevant).

   Report, page 26

8. Recommendation 8

   • Include a regular review mechanism (at least annually) into the Corporate Governance Manual for each committee to ensure it remains fit for purpose and undertake internal audits of each committee’s activities to inform such reviews.

   Report, page 26

9. Recommendation 9

   • Develop and implement an action plan to address systemic organisational culture issues.

   Report, page 26

Published responses

No published response was found.

Coverage

This publisher

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• Scanned reports without a text layer are not OCR'd; their findings and recommendations are not extracted.
• Findings and opinions are not extracted except where a report states it makes no finding about any person (section 48B of the Crime and Corruption Act 2001). Pre-2025 reports state outcomes in narrative form, which is not converted into findings.
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• The 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry report, which the CCC hosts, is a commission of inquiry report and is not included here.