H.6.5 Governance, probity and compliance

Proper management of a PPP project by the government party involves not only managing the contract and relationship with the private party, but also ensuring appropriate governance, probity and compliance practices are established within the government party and in its interactions with the private sector party and any other government stakeholders.

In a well-managed PPP project, the risks associated with government's ultimate accountability for the delivery of infrastructure and services is effectively managed through a project governance, probity and compliance framework. This framework helps the government party manage the contract in the context of:

• Ministerial accountability to Parliament and the people (including accountability for government's contracting activities);

• the relevant Acts and related Regulations and Directions, designed to safeguard public money and to ensure that it is spent efficiently;

• scrutiny of the Auditor-General;

• government's obligation to act as a 'moral exemplar' in commercial dealings with the private sector;

• the availability of administrative law remedies including any Freedom of Information legislation;

• privacy obligations in relation to personal information in the hands of the government; and

• political or commercial constraints in exercising legal rights for non-performing or defaulting contractors.