Frequently Asked Questions about the Integrity Plus Line
1.
What is the Integrity Plus Line?
The Integrity Plus Line is an anonymous and independent reporting service for Ministry staff to
raise concerns of possible alleged serious wrongdoing by Ministry staff you feel cannot be
raised in the normal way. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is powered by
the registered national charity Crimestoppers.
2.
How can I contact the Integrity Plus Line?
Contact the Integrity Plus Line by telephone by calling 0800 463676 if in NZ or 0044 1883 731
349 if overseas.
Or alternatively report online anonymously.
3.
Who can use the Integrity Plus Line?
It can be used by any current and former Ministry staff including all contractors (see pages 4
and 5 of the policy for the definition of staff) and members of the public.
4.
When should I use the Integrity Plus Line?
Contact the Integrity Plus Line if you have concerns about possible alleged serious wrongdoing
by Ministry staff which you feel you cannot raise in the normal way.
5.
Does the Integrity Plus Line give advice to callers?
No. The role of the Integrity Plus Line is to provide you with a means to provide anonymous
information in an entirely non-judgemental environment.
6. Who answers calls to the Integrity Plus line?
Calls to the Integrity Plus Line are answered by the highly trained and experienced call
handling team who work for Crimestoppers, an independent UK charity working to stop crime.
7.
What happens if I call the Integrity Plus Line?
All information received by the Integrity Plus Line is put into a report which is then sent to Risk
and Assurance within 24 hours who will then decide upon the next course of action. A central
process and a dedicated independent internal investigations team called the Assessment Team
managed by Risk and Assurance has been established to carry out the investigations. The
Assessment Team, will conduct a Triage process to determine which reports should be
referred through to the Assessment Team for investigation (alleged serious wrongdoing only
which also includes protected disclosures) and which can be referred through to Managers to
address.
8.
No.
Does the Integrity Plus Line tape-record calls?
Can I call the Integrity Plus Line anonymously?
Yes, absolutely if you want to report serious wrongdoing.
Staff wanting to make a protected disclosure cannot choose to remain anonymous. This is
because the Ministry will be unable to provide you with the protections offered by the policy
and the Protected Disclosure Act if they do not know your identity. That why it is called a
protected disclosure – a disclosure with protections.
9.
How does the Integrity Plus Line ensure my anonymity?
Just as at Crimestoppers, the Integrity Plus Line does not have the capability to trace or record
calls and there is no facility or call line identifier. As a result the Integrity Plus Line has no
means of identifying you unless you volunteer your details. The Integrity Plus Line is there to
process what you know, not identify who you are.
10.
Can the Ministry trust anonymous information?
Anonymous information can often be very useful in directing an investigation and once the
issue is highlighted it may be quickly resolved. No anonymous call is ever acted upon without
proper analysis being made by both the Integrity Plus Line providers and your organisation.
11.
What can I report to the Integrity Plus Line?
The Integrity Plus Line is there for you to report any alleged serious wrongdoing (which
includes protected disclosures) within your workplace which you may be aware of and that is
causing you to feel uncomfortable. This can include, but is not limited to;
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criminal activity of any kind
deliberate or repetitive non-compliance with Ministry policies and controls
dishonest behaviour, being deceitful, acting without authority in their role and acting
contrary to the interests of the Ministry
harassment, bullying, discriminatory or abusive behaviour towards any person
possession of objectionable, offensive or pornographic material
unauthorised access, disclosure or use of Ministry information
unauthorised use of Ministry property and systems
undeclared conflict of interests that could adversely impact on the Ministry and
an unlawful, corrupt, or irregular use of funds or resources of a public sector organisation;
or
an act, omission, or course of conduct that constitutes a serious risk to public health or
public safety or the environment; or
an act, omission, or course of conduct that constitutes a serious risk to the maintenance of
law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences and the right to a
fair trial; or
an act, omission, or course of conduct that constitutes an offence; or
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an act, omission, or course of conduct by a public official that is oppressive, improperly
discriminatory, or grossly negligent, or that constitutes gross mismanagement .
12. What doesn’t the Integrity Plus Line cover?
The Integrity Plus Line does not apply to other alleged wrongdoing and possible breaches of
the Code of Conduct as follows:
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absenteeism
customer service complaints
declared conflicts of interest
drugs and alcohol abuse
excessive use of ICT systems
failure to adhere to Ministry policies and controls
inappropriate emails
medical issues
offensive language or behaviour
performance issues and improvement plans.
Line Managers are responsible for addressing the above staff issues.
13.
How will my information be investigated?
Any information which you may provide will be investigated by the Assessment Team situated
in Risk and Assurance. Even they will not know who has provided the information they receive
and so your anonymity is 100% guaranteed.
14. How will I be protected if I lodge a complaint?
The Integrity Plus Line has some general anonymity requirements. They will not:
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seek identifying information (including names) of any individual (complainant) making
a call unless they want to provide their details
seek identifying information of any complainant sending a message
pass on identifying information to MBIE
make information identifying the complainant publically available
record or trace calls or trace visits to the websites
15.
What about malicious calls?
The Integrity Plus Line’s independent reporting lines receive very few, if any, malicious calls.
The skill and expertise of the call-handling team at Crimestoppers often identifies such calls
and brings them to a premature conclusion. All information received will be subject to proper
analysis and assessment so you should feel safe that a colleague cannot target you without
substantial justification. Malicious complaints could lead to disciplinary action.
16. Why does my organisation use the Integrity Plus Line?
Although rare, and only ever involving a tiny number of staff, things can go wrong at work, be
it dishonesty, fraud or bullying. This disrupts the productivity of MBIE as well as placing the
safety and wellbeing of you and your colleagues at risk. The Ministry is committed to tackling
these issues and so provides the Integrity Plus Line as a means to achieve this. We know that
reporting alleged serious wrongdoing in the workplace can be a worrying and stressful thing to
have to do due to fear of the repercussions; and so we offer the Integrity Plus Line in order to
support you in raising concerns you feel cannot be raised in the normal way.
17. How does the Integrity Plus Line work?
(1) Ministry staff and members of the public who want to provide information about possible
serious wrongdoing by Ministry staff will call the Integrity Plus Line on 0800 463676 if in
NZ and 0044 1883 731 349 if overseas and will be connected to the Call Centre in the
United Kingdom.
(2) Ministry staff and members of the public also have the option of reporting possible
serious wrongdoing by email anonymously by going to the Crimestoppers website and
clicking on “MBIE Integrity Plus Line Tab - Email Anonymously” This line is encrypted and
anonymous.
(3) The Call Taker will clarify with the caller whether they are reporting alleged serious
wrongdoing (as per the Ministry’s definitions) or whether they are making a Protected
Disclosure, i.e. reporting alleged serious wrongdoing as per the Protected Disclosures Act.
(4) The Call Taker will ask a series of questions (who, what, where, when, how, and why) to
get the background information needed to investigate the information.
(5) The caller will be advised that they have the option of either (i) remaining anonymous or
(ii) having their contact details only known by Crimestoppers or (iii) providing their details
if they are comfortable with being contacted or (iv) if making a protected disclosure, this
will mean that they will need to provide their contact details.
(6) If the caller is comfortable with being contacted, in the event that additional information
is required, then the MBIE Assessment Team will make direct contact with them.
(7) If the caller chooses to remain anonymous with their contact details only known by
Crimestoppers, in the event that additional information from them is required, this will be
kept confidential by the Call Taker who will only make contact with them, in situations
where the Ministry has requested that they obtain additional information.
(8) The Call Taker will not:
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seek identifying information including names of an individual making a call unless
the individual chooses to provide that information (as stated above)
pass on informant identifying information to the Ministry
make informant identifying information publically available
record or trace calls
(9) There may be some exceptions where it may be necessary for the Call Taker to provide
information on the caller’s gender, race or faith if this information is pertinent to the
allegation.
(10) The Call Taker will assign the case a confidential code number and provide the caller with
the confidential code number.
(11) The Call Taker will complete a report with the information provided. No information will
be recorded which may identify the caller or their gender unless the caller has opted to be
contacted. In these situations the Call Taker will record this in the report and will include
the caller’s contact details in the report.
(12) The Call Taker will forward the completed report to a dedicated email address (mailbox)
in Risk and Assurance (Internal Investigations Advisor) within 24 hours of having received
the information.
(13) On a case by case basis, Risk and Assurance (Internal Investigations Advisor) will approach
the Call Taker with a confidential code number and advise them what additional
information they would like the Call Taker to obtain.
(14) The Call Taker will contact the caller (if details have been provided) to obtain the
additional information. They will then complete a report with the information provided
and forward the completed report to a dedicated email address (mailbox) in Risk and
Assurance (Internal Investigations Advisor) within 24 hours of having received the
information.