Disclosure of interests, gifts, benefits and hospitality

Curtin University is a diverse and expansive organisation where conflicting interests will regularly occur. Recognising, avoiding and disclosing these conflicts is an opportunity to transparently acknowledge and manage them in line with the Curtin University Code of Conduct.

Regardless of whether it is a conflict of interest, a foreign relationship or interest, or a gift, benefit, or hospitality, the approach remains consistent: avoid it if possible, disclose it if one exists and adopt a management strategy to address it with your line manager.

Before disclosing a conflict of interest/gift, benefits or hospitality, please view the FAQs page.

The below procedures and guidelines provide essential guidance on how Curtin University expects its staff to conduct themselves in relation to disclosing and managing conflicts of interest, foreign relationships or interests, gifts, benefits and hospitality:

• Disclosure of Relationships and Interests Procedures
• Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure of Relationships Guidelines: information on what conflicts of interest are, how to determine if one exists and strategies for managing conflicts – (This document replaces the previous Appendix 1, 2 and 3 documents)
• ServiceNow Disclosure of Relationships and Interests form guide – submitting a disclosure: A detailed guide with step-by-step instructions on how to use the ServiceNow forms to disclose interests, relationships, gifts, benefits and hospitality
• Disclosure of Interest Flowchart: To assist all parties involved in the submission, review and approval process.
• Conflict of Interest training video: New to disclosures? Start with our Conflict of Interest training video for a step-by-step walkthrough.

Additional resources specific to functional areas:

• Conflict of Interest in Strategy and Marketing: Worked Examples (under draft)
• Conflict of Interest in Research: Worked Examples (under draft)
• Conflict of Interest in Procurement: Worked Examples (under draft)
• Conflict of Interest in Capital Projects: Worked Examples (under draft)
• Conflict of Interest in Recruitment: Worked Examples (under draft)

Foreign relationships and interests

Curtin’s global footprint means the Disclosure of Foreign Relationships and Interests questions are an important requirement for staff. Curtin’s questions are taken directly from the Australian University Foreign Interference Taskforce (UFIT) Guidelines 2021 and are recommended for staff across the entire sector. The questions are designed to foster transparency, allow for the management of potential risks, and ensure compliance with relevant legislation including the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme (FITS) and the Foreign Arrangement Scheme (FAS).

It is critical that all employees disclose and update relevant Foreign Relationships and Interests as soon as practicable, regardless of whether they consider that these may not involve a Conflict of Interest. The obligation to disclose Foreign Relationships and Interests is separate from, and in addition to, disclosure obligations regarding Conflicts of Interest.

More information can be found on the Disclosure of Foreign Relationships and Interests page on the Curtin Staff Portal.

If you have a query or concern related to Foreign Relationships and Interests, please contact the Foreign Risk Management Team.

Frequently asked questions

To assist you in obtaining a better understanding of your obligations in relation to notifying the University of conflicts of interest / gifts, benefits and hospitality under these procedures, please refer to the FAQs page.

Please note that the following email address is used by the system to generate emails to system users for all declarations: conflictsofinterest@curtin.edu.au.