What a conflict of interest is

A conflict of interest is when your personal interests, obligations or relationships could influence, or could be perceived to influence, decisions you make on your school's behalf.

A conflict of interest can be actual, potential or perceived:

• An actual conflict means a conflict already exists.
• A potential conflict means you can identify a conflict that could happen in the future.
• A perceived conflict means a neutral person outside of the situation could think there is a conflict even if there is not one.

How a conflict of interest happens

A conflict of interest might be a connection you have with a business or individual your school might buy something from. Some examples are:

• having a family member or friend that works at a business your school might buy from
• having previously worked for or with a business that your school might buy from
• having a financial interest in a business your school might buy from.

Conflicts of interest when buying goods and services

You must declare any conflict interest you have to the school board before the buying process begins. Use our conflict of interest declaration and management plan template to do this.

If the final value of a purchase is $25,000 or more including GST, we recommend all staff involved sign a declaration.

A staff member who declares a conflict must distance themselves from the buying process. They should not be involved in evaluating supplier offers or purchasing the goods or services.

For more information or support with conflicts of interest at your school, contact us.

Email: [email protected]

Conflicts of interest in property procurement

You must declare any conflict of interest you have if the property procurement you are involved with costs $10,000 or more.

If the final value of a procurement is $50,000 or more including GST, all staff involved must sign a conflict-of-interest declaration. This must be done before they get involved in the purchasing process.

Managing a conflict

When a conflict is declared, a conflict management plan must be agreed by:

• the person with the conflict
• the procurement sponsor
• the procurement officer.

The management plan is part of the procurement COI declaration form.

The completed plan must be endorsed by the procurement leader. The evaluation team should be told of any declared conflict.

Roles and responsibilities in the procurement process

Guidance and examples of conflicts of interest

The Office of the Auditor-General has detailed examples of how conflicts of interest happen and provides tips on how to manage them.

Managing conflicts of interest in procurement – Office of the Auditor-General New Zealand

Schools are expected to apply government procurement rules when using public money. The New Zealand Government Procurement website has more detail about what a conflict of interest is and how to manage it.

Managing conflicts of interest and confidentiality – New Zealand Government Procurement

The Public Service Commissioner outlines expectations for reporting and managing conflicts of interest.

Conflicts of Interest – Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission