Code of conduct
Message from the CEO
Everywhere I go in Water Corporation I meet people who are dedicated to our business and committed to making a positive difference to our community.
For us to be truly successful, we must create and maintain an environment where we all feel safe, respected and supported to be our best.
At the same time, we must always act in the best interests of our customers, community and our owner by maintaining the highest standards of professional conduct.
Our vision is for our people, communities, and state to thrive. To achieve this vision, we are creating a great place to work, that is safe and inclusive for all, where our people live our values and follow our Code of Conduct.
Our values guide our decision-making and behaviours, while our Code of Conduct contains clear statements about what we expect from ourselves and each other and is the basis for how we work together and with our customers and the community.
Pat Donovan, Chief Executive Officer
Our goals
Our values
Our values guide our behaviour and decision-making and are clear statements about what we expect of ourselves and each other. We will all act in alignment with our values.
- Working as one – We make a bigger impact together, working towards a shared purpose to benefit all of WA.
- Delivering on our promises – We achieve our goals efficiently, delivering on what we say we will do.
- Finding better solutions – We are curious to learn, with courage we challenge the status quo.
- Leading with care – We care for our communities and each other.
Our responsibilities under the code
We all have a responsibility to uphold the standards within this Code and demonstrate respect and courtesy to others in the workplace and the Western Australian community.
Our conduct and behaviour must be in accordance with the Code, regardless of our role or work location. If you breach the Code or relevant legislation you may place yourself and Water Corporation at risk.
Water Corporation will hold anyone who breaches the Code accountable for their actions and if you become aware of behaviour that breaches our Code, you should report it as soon as possible.
Failure to comply with our Code may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
Our code
How we behave and treat each other
We seek to maintain the highest standards of professional conduct in our interactions with each other, our stakeholders, our customers and the community.
We act with a high level of care and diligence. We take care when we make decisions and ensure they are ethical, fair, transparent and impartial. All relevant information and obligations should be considered.
We are committed to environmental and social governance and take care and diligence to ensure we act to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse impacts. We act with the best intent, diligence and social conscience ensuring we:
- are committed to sustainability for our environment
- preserve human rights and freedoms of law
- conduct business with third parties that embed respect for human rights into culture and practice (identifying severe risks to human rights including modern slavery).
We comply with all safety and health policies, standards and procedures and behave in accordance with the requirements of the Work Health and Safety Act (2020). We speak up and report anything that could cause harm and we ask ourselves “What can hurt me? What can kill me?” before undertaking any task.
How we work
We go about our work in a professional and ethical way to protect Water Corporation and deliver value for our customers and community.
We do not tolerate corrupt or other improper conduct by our directors, employees, contractors or consultants. This includes mismanagement of public resources in the running of, use of, or supply of services to the organisation.
This means we do not:
- engage in behaviour or conduct that is fraudulent, corrupt or misleading and deceptive
- tolerate or accept behaviour or conduct that is fraudulent, corrupt or misleading and deceptive by others, including from those supplying services
- make use of Water Corporation’s information, systems, property or its position to gain or seek improper benefit for ourselves, the organisation or a third party
- support or deal with any person or business knowingly involved in bribery or corrupt practices.
Our Fraud and Corruption Control Plan documents our strategies and controls for planning resourcing, prevention, detection and response to fraud and corruption related matters.
Water Corporation is accountable to the Minister, State Government and the people of Western Australia, so our use of resources must be in the public interest and transparent.
This means we:
- use the resources, including information, property and systems of Water Corporation effectively, economically, properly and lawfully
- do not use Water Corporation resources for anyone’s personal or financial gain
- follow proper procedures when we acquire or dispose of materials, equipment or assets
- report any damage or loss of property or equipment immediately.
Effective information management is critical to the successful operations of our business and we each have a role to play.
So we all:
- record actions, decisions and transactions properly to ensure transparency and accuracy
- make use of the correct information system for the various types of information and task
- ensure information, including confidential information, is recorded, handled and securely stored in accordance with record keeping and archiving procedures
- obtain authorisation before altering or destroying records.
A conflict of interest is a situation where an employee’s interests outside of work are in conflict with the role they hold at Water Corporation. Conflicts of interest can be actual, potential or perceived and we each have a duty to avoid and disclose these to Water Corporation as soon as we become aware.
Receiving gifts, benefits or hospitality from external parties has the potential to place us in a position where we feel conflicted. We may be offered hospitality as part of our work, but it is not always appropriate to accept. We must avoid situations that present an actual or perceived financial or moral obligation to another organisation or individual.
To protect ourselves and Water Corporation we will disclose any hospitality received and take all reasonable steps to avoid actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest in connection with our work.
This means we will:
- act honestly and in the best interests of Water Corporation and its owner
- refuse any gift, benefit or hospitality that is likely to place Water Corporation under an actual or perceived commercial, moral or ethical obligation to other organisations or individuals
- openly declare private interests and affiliations that may conflict with or be perceived to conflict with Water Corporation or our duties or position
- ensure decisions are accurately recorded so that they are transparent and able to be reviewed
- follow legislated and/or policy requirements for managing real, perceived or potential conflicts of interest
- ensure that the acceptance (or refusal) of gifts, benefits or hospitality is in accordance with Water Corporation’s policy and is recorded in the corporate gift and hospitality register.
You may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment if you:
- breach the Code of Conduct
- breach our policies, guidelines or procedures
- authorise or permit any breaches by a team member who reports to you.