Media Releases
Poll shows Victorians believe corruption has increased
A survey partnership between the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and The Australia National University (ANU) on the prevalence and perception of corruption in Victoria has revealed that nearly 50% of the 500 Victorians polled believed that corruption had increased over the last three years.
In addition, a similar percentage did not know to whom or where to report suspected or observed corrupt activity.
The latest ANU poll ‘Perceptions of corruption and ethical conduct’ was released today. The ANU poll is a regular survey of Australian public opinion on matters of national importance, and measures public confidence in government and institutions, and perceptions and experiences of corruption and ethical conduct.
As part of its education and prevention functions IBAC commissioned ANU to increase the Victorian data to obtain a broader snapshot of public perception amongst Victorians.
Professor Adam Graycar from the ANU Research School of Social Sciences said that the Victorian public clearly felt that corruption was on the rise.
“While Australia ranks as one of the 10 least corrupt countries in the world, perceptions that corruption is increasing can do harm to our international standing, and to community confidence. Countering corruption is a significant challenge for government, and the best approaches are education, prevention, and as a last resort, criminalisation. The key lies in good governance,” Professor Graycar said.
IBAC Acting Commissioner Ron Bonighton said that the data reaffirmed the importance of the Commission having commenced with its anti-corruption education and prevention functions.
“With the introduction of IBAC, for the first time the entire public sector will come under the jurisdiction of a single body with the ability to tackle corruption and promote integrity across the sector,” Mr Bonighton said.
“While the government continues its work on finalising further legislation to enable us to commence investigations, we are getting on with the important work of readying the Victorian public sector and the wider Victorian community for IBAC’s full operations.”
Findings from the Victorian data show that 43.5% of those surveyed thought that the level of corruption in Australia had increased and 45.6% would not know where to report corrupt activity if they suspected or observed it.