3.3 Develop a probity plan

With government being the custodian of public money, it is imperative that a transparent process is followed throughout the procurement process. Accordingly, a Probity Practitioner (i.e. advisor and/or auditor) should be appointed to ensure that a transparent and robust process is followed at all times. The Probity Practitioner must be an objective monitor of the tender process throughout and provide advice to the project team and the Project Steering Committee.

To ensure that probity concerns are addressed early in the process, the upfront development of a probity plan endorsed by the Probity Practitioner and approved by the Project Steering Committee is vital. Other probity issues, such as identifying any conflicts of interest, should be dealt with through the probity plan when the team is first established.

Probity issues are discussed further in Section 14 and conflict of interest is discussed in Section 14.6.