PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is to:

1. Promote and guide conduct and behaviours to align with the Organisation’s vision, mission and values

2. Outline how you may make a report or raise concerns about conduct and behaviours, and

3. Support the Organisation’s reputation, its relationship with stakeholders, and compliance with legal requirements.

Introduction

Social Enterprise Australia Ltd (the Organisation) is the peak body for social enterprise in Australia. The Organisation connects the sector to plan, act and learn together; to have a shared national strategy and voice, and to develop new ways to build social and environmental wellbeing.

The Organisation is committed to fostering good governance, and recognises the important role it plays in defining this through its actions. This Code of Conduct Policy (Policy) forms a critical part of the Organisation’s governance framework defining standards to support the Organisation’s vision, mission and values.

Scope - Who is covered by this Policy?

This Policy applies to the following when undertaking any activities relating to the Organisation:

1. Directors and Officers of the Organisation

2. Employees of the Organisation (including work experience students, apprentices and trainees where they are deemed “workers” under Workplace Health and Safety legislation)

3. Contractors and Suppliers of the Organisation (including their employees), and

4. Volunteers of the Organisation,

referred to collectively as the Organisation’s People in this Policy.

The Organisation’s People are required to comply with this Policy and not to do anything which would cause the Organisation to be in breach of this Policy.

Definitions

“Organisation’s People” means the people listed in this policy under Scope.

“Our, we and us” means Social Enterprise Australia Ltd (the Organisation). Directors and Officers under the WHS legislation are included in this meaning.

“Policy Owner” means the person holding the position identified in the table on the first page of this Policy.

“Related Documents” means any documents identified on the last page of this Policy.

“You, your and yourself” means the Organisation’s People.

Policy

Guiding Principles

This Policy is designed to support the Organisation’s vision, mission and values. This Policy aims to provide you with clear guidance about the conduct and behaviours expected of you.

This Policy is also designed to comply with the Organisation’s legal obligations. If anything in this Policy is inconsistent with any law imposed on the Organisation, that legal obligation will prevail over this Policy. As the peak body of the social enterprise sector, our reputation is key to our success. Your positive conduct and behaviours support and enable us to achieve our vision, mission and values. 

We recognise that this Policy may not specifically address all issues faced by you in your role. If you are ever uncertain how to proceed, we encourage you to seek support from your Manager or the Policy Owner.

Conduct and Behaviours 

We require and promote the following conduct and behaviours. 

1. You consider the broader impact of your actions, not just on the Organisation but on our vision and mission:

   1. Our vision is working together to ensure all people, places and the planet thrive.

   2. Our mission is to foster a vibrant and connected Australian social enterprise sector that provides environmental care, people-centred services, access to decent work and community-led innovation.

   Benefits should be maximised and harm minimised.

2. You act in line with our values.

   This means:

   1. Authenticity: You are honest with yourself and others. You seek to be transparent and clear in your communications, talk with others not about them, and do what you say you will. You take on difficult conversations, decisions and actions rather than avoid them. You aim to own your mistakes and limitations. You seek to be kind to yourself and others.

   2. Collaboration: You plan, act and learn with others. You aim to be aware of your ego, assumptions and emotions and to keep in check how they affect you and others. You seek joint responsibility rather than credit. You are upfront about your own interests to identify when they could undermine or help shared goals.

   3. Creativity: You help create space for imagination and innovation. You see that the future is not determined and is ours to create. You foster space to dream big, explore, and make mistakes or get it right. You recognise that it’s ok and sometimes good to change your mind and for others to change theirs. You seek to emerge ideas, take action and learn together.

   4. Diversity: You seek out views that are different from your own. You recognise that there are different ways to participate and create impact. You ask people what they mean, listen with curiosity and seek to understand rather than make assumptions or speak for them. You celebrate the contribution of others and recognise that you always have things to learn.

   5. Justice: You seek to enable the full participation of all. You recognise that some people are excluded and their voices are not heard. You aim to identify and reject discrimination and to value lived experience and self-determination. You seek to be aware of any exclusion or privilege of your own.

3. Your conduct and behaviours are legally compliant.

   This means:

   1. You familiarise yourself with legal obligations relevant to your role with the Organisation. If you are ever uncertain about any legal obligations, you seek guidance from your Manager or seek specialist advice where required and appropriate.

   2. You act in accordance with the Organisation’s legal obligations. If anything in this Policy is inconsistent with any law imposed on the Organisation, that legal obligation prevails.

4. You perform your duties responsibly and effectively, as best you can relevant to your skills, experience, qualifications and role with the Organisation.

5. You conduct yourself in a way that promotes confidence and trust in the Organisation, protects our reputation, and recognises the critical role we play as a peak body for the sector.

6. You keep yourself and others safe at work.

   This means:

   1. You familiarise yourself with workplace health and safety laws safeguarding the physical and psychological safety of others

   2. You act in line with workplace health and safety laws

   3. You take reasonable steps to ensure your own health, safety and welfare in the workplace, as well as that of other people

   4. You are proactive in identifying and managing risks relating to health, safety and welfare in the workplace

   5. You report incidents (including near misses) and accidents to your Manager or through other approved channels, and make suggestions for improvements where appropriate.

7. You safeguard vulnerable people.

   While all people must be protected from harm, there are additional legislative and ethical considerations for protecting vulnerable people (meaning children or adults who are disadvantaged and access a regulated activity in relation to the disadvantage).

   This means:

   1. You take care to ensure vulnerable people are protected from harm or exploitation (including physical, psychological and financial harm or exploitation)

   2. You are proactive in identifying and managing risks relating to vulnerable people

   3. You do not put yourself in a position where you are working or interacting with vulnerable people in an unsupervised capacity as part of your role with the Organisation unless you have written authorisation from our CEO

   4. You do not permit or require others to work or interact with vulnerable people in an unsupervised capacity as part of their role with the Organisation

   5. If you are required to work or interact with vulnerable people in an unsupervised capacity, you hold a valid working with children check and criminal history check

   6. If you suspect or are concerned a vulnerable person may be exposed to harm or exploitation by the Organisation or any of the Organisation’s People, you report your concern in line with the process outlined in this Policy.

8. You respect other’s rights and freedoms and do not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, age, race, ethnicity, language, religion, disability, pregnancy, carer responsibilities or any other status protected by law. You do not exploit, abuse or corrupt in any way. You raise concerns about any form of harassment, discrimination, racism, intimidation, exploitation or abuse. You invite others to express disagreement without fear of reprisal.

9. You recognise the cultural heritage of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and the heritage of people of all backgrounds.

10. You do not accept bribes or inducements, and minimise our exposure to fraud and corruption.

    This means:

    1. You do not solicit gifts, benefits or additional money through your role with us for yourself or others

    2. You do not accept gifts or benefits or any inducements which may obligate, compromise or influence you or the Organisation

    3. You declare or decline gifts or benefits in line with our Conflicts of Interest Policy 

    4. You report any suspected fraud, corrupt, criminal, unethical conduct or maladministration in line with the process outlined in this Policy.

11. You identify and disclose interests that gives rise or may give rise to a conflict of interest (perceived, potential or actual) in accordance with our Conflicts of Interest Policy.

12. You maintain privacy and confidentiality of personal information obtained through your role with the Organisation, and only use this information for work-related purposes.

    This means:

    1. You securely store personal information provided

    2. You are proactive in identifying and managing risks relating to privacy and confidentiality

    3. You take reasonable steps to ensure personal information is kept secure against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification, disclosure or misuse

    4. You use personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and in line with our Privacy Policy

    5. You do not disclose personal information to another party unless the individual is aware of, or has consented to, the disclosure.

13. You use property, funds, information and resources appropriately recognising the scarcity of our resources and the trust placed in us by those that resource our work.

    This means:

    1. You minimise waste

    2. You maintain the integrity and security of our intellectual property and commercial information, and are proactive in identifying and managing risks relating to intellectual property and commercial information

    3. You act within your delegations and in line with our Procurement Policy

    4. You ensure that agreements with suppliers contain suitable provisions, where appropriate, to ensure that any new intellectual property created will either be owned by the Organisation or we will have a perpetual right to freely use and adapt it for our purposes

    5. You use property, funds, information and resources responsibly, effectively, economically and sustainably for legal and proper purposes to benefit the Organisation

    6. You do not remove, give away, lend, destroy or otherwise dispose of property, funds or resources without appropriate approval

    7. You return property, funds, information and resources when leaving the Organisation unless otherwise agreed.

14. You use data and artificial intelligence (AI) ethically.

    This means:

    1. You create and manage data and AI with integrity

    2. You are aware of and observe appropriate standards for creating, accessing, sharing and using data (especially in the case of personal and commercial data)

    3. You are aware of and retain control over data inputs, particularly those informing policy and decision-making 

    4. You are proactive in identifying and managing risks relating to data and AI

    5. You do not share data to provide a commercial advantage to any individual party.

15. You conduct yourself online and use social media (both in a personal and a professional setting) so as not to cause damage to the Organisation’s reputation or our relationship with stakeholders.

    This means:

    1. You do not post content or interact online in a way that will harm our reputation or relationship with our stakeholders

    2. You do not make public comment on behalf of the Organisation without approval

    3. You ensure that other public comments made cannot be attributed to the Organisation or damage our reputation or relationship with our stakeholders.

Reporting Concerns

If you are concerned someone’s conduct or behaviour is fraudulent or corrupt, is in breach of this Policy or any law, or otherwise endangers the wellbeing of the Organisation’s People or our reputation, you are encouraged to raise your concerns. You are required to raise your concerns if the conduct or behaviour may cause harm to or exploit a vulnerable person.

Your concerns may be raised with your Manager in the first instance or, if this is not appropriate, with our COO or through our online form on our website. Reports may be made anonymously via our online form. If neither of these options are appropriate, concerns may be raised with our CEO or a member of our Board. We will internally investigate all reports made to us or, where an internal investigation may not be appropriate given the nature of the concerns raised, we will seek external support.

For concerns relating to reportable conduct under whistleblower laws, you can consider reporting to the ACNC or to a person specified under whistleblower laws (reports concerning tax avoidance can be made direct to the ATO).

You are entitled to make complaints without fear of victimisation and with the assurance your complaint will be treated seriously, promptly and sensitively having regard to due process and confidentiality. You must not make frivolous, malicious or vexatious complaints.

Failure to comply with this Policy

You recognise that we may monitor systems to ensure compliance with this Policy. You acknowledge that a failure to comply with this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of your employment or contract.

Responsibilities

You are responsible for acting in accordance with this Policy.

The Board is responsible for this Policy defining the conduct and behaviours expected across the Organisation, monitoring compliance and reviewing the Policy.

To support the Board, the Policy Owner is responsible for:

1. Answering questions about the Policy and escalating where appropriate

2. Implementation of this Policy, including education and training, and ensuring the Policy is made available on the Organisation’s website

3. Monitoring and reviewing this Policy every 2 years and providing a report to the Board (via the CEO) with recommended amendments to the Policy

4. Developing and maintaining Related Documents, and

5. Ensuring that following a review of the Policy, version numbers are updated and obsolete versions are archived.

RELATED DOCUMENTS:

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RELEVANT LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS:

This Policy is not intended to override any industrial instrument, contract, award or legislation.