What is a conflict of interest?

A Conflict of interest is when a staff member has their own interests that are different from Aspect’s or the people they are supporting.

A Conflict of Interest may be:

• Actual – it happened.
• Potential – it might happen.
• Perceived – it seems like a conflict of interest.

A conflict of interest is wrong if the staff member uses it to get more than they should have for themselves or their friends.

This might be because the staff member:

• believes in something different to what you like to do or believe in. For example, they have different religious beliefs to you.
• works at Aspect and at another place, and they might think it will be useful to you. For example, they are a teacher who helps or tutors students at night on weekends for money.
• has friends or family members that do work at another place, and they might think it will be useful to you. For example, they have a friend who can fix your car for money if you need it.
• • has friends or family members that also work for Aspect, and they can make decisions about that person that makes them better off and are not fair to other staff. For example, if someone’s mother is their boss and their mother can decide if they get a pay rise.
• is a friend or a family member of someone Aspect supports, and they might treat that person differently to the other people they support. For example, they might give the person extra support that they do not have to pay for because they are a friend.
• is given something, like money, a favour or a big gift, from a student/ participant or their family if they do something special for them that Aspect does not agree to or is against Aspect’s rules.

What happens if our staff have a conflict of interest?

All staff have to tell their manager at Aspect if they have a conflict of interest in any part of their work.

Staff also have to tell Aspect if they might have a conflict of interest, or it just looks like they have a conflict of interest.

Aspect will work with a staff member to make a plan to make sure the conflict of interest does not stop the staff member from doing their job in the right way.

For example:

• Aspect will not let someone be the manager of a family member who also works at Aspect.
• Aspect will give you all the information you need to make choices, not just the information about what Aspect or a staff member wants you to do.
• Staff cannot accept gifts or extra money from anyone that might make them do something that is not right.
• Staff working with you must tell you if they have a conflict of interest.

We want you to be in control of your choices, so they are fair and good for you.

Our staff must never let something they do, know or believe in effect your choices because of them.

How does Aspect help you make choices that are fair and good for you?

Aspect will:

• give you all the information you need to make a fair choice.
• help you when you want to find someone outside of Aspect who can help you make a fair choice. This is called an advocate or support person.
• make sure our staff do not let something they do, know or believe in affect your choices because of them.
• write down any conflicts of interest that our staff have, and the plans to fix them.
• give you information about how to tell us if you are not happy or something has happened that you do not like.

Aspect’s Conflict of Interest in the NDIS

Aspect is a service provider of NDIS services.

Aspect also works with NDIS Participant’s to choose which service providers they want to use. This can be when the NDIS Participant works with Aspect for:

• Support Coordination.
• Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI).
• Behaviour Support.

There are lots of organisations who can provide NDIS supports to you. Which service provider you choose is up to you.

If we are helping you with the choices you make about service providers to use your NDIS Plan, Aspect will:

• give you information on what all the organisations are that can support you.
• tell you if Aspect also has a support or service you are interested in.
• tell you that you do not have to use Aspect to support you.
• make sure nothing bad will happen if you do not want to use Aspect for some or all of your supports.
• tell you how you can change where you get support if you want to.
• tell you about conflict of interest and how we manage this at Aspect.
• give you information about how to tell us if you are not happy or something has happened that you do not like.