Policy on the management of conflicts of interest

purpose to establish a transparent and consistent conflicts of interest policy to be used to identify and manage interest declarations to ensure integrity in carrying out the functions of the veterinary council \[1] legislation section 3 of the veterinarians act 2005 states the purpose of the act is to “ … protect the public interest by aiming to ensure that veterinarians are competent to practise …” schedule 1, section 14 of the veterinarians act 2005 states that (4) a member must not be present at, or vote at, or otherwise participate in a meeting if the member has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in the matter being considered (5) if a member is a veterinarian, the member must not be present at, or vote at, or otherwise participate in a meeting if either or both of the following matters are being considered (a) a matter relating to disciplining the member under this act (b) a matter relating to the member's registration background conflicts of interest, or perceptions of conflicts of interest, cannot always be avoided some are natural and unavoidable in small countries like new zealand all council and council committee members are also private individuals, and may have more than one professional role there will be occasions where members private or other professional interests come into conflict, or are perceived to come into conflict, with their council responsibilities and could potentially affect their ability to be or to be perceived as being neutral or impartial the veterinary council needs to have confidence that a system exists to prevent or manage any conflict of interest policy context council and council committee members must perform their functions in good faith, honestly and impartially, and avoid situations that might compromise their integrity or otherwise lead to conflicts of interest detailed guidance on managing conflicts of interest is set out in the state services commission (ssc) http //www ssc govt nz/board appointment guidelines (2012); and office of the auditor general good practice guide on http //www oag govt nz/2007/conflicts public entities/ definition schedule 1, section 14 of the veterinarians act 2005 is limited to pecuniary/financial interests only the section prevents members from having any involvement in the matter in such circumstances however, a conflict of interest, or a perception of conflict of interest, may take a number of forms it may be financial or non financial it may be direct or indirect it may be professional or family related the veterinary council must bear in mind its overriding purpose is to protect the public interest in carrying out its functions \[2] the council has therefore agreed that a conflict of interest arises where a council or council committee member has an interest which conflicts (or might conflict, or might be perceived to conflict), with the interests of the veterinary council a conflict of interest may arise from (but is not necessarily limited to) directorships or other employment interests in professional practices or business enterprises professional associations or relationships with other organisations or persons personal associations with other groups or organisations or persons; or family relationships conflicts of interest, as defined above, should be avoided wherever possible, and where this is not possible, must be declared fully and promptly by the member with the conflict, and managed to the satisfaction of the veterinary council disclosure of interests council and council committee members, on, or before appointment, must disclose any financial, professional or personal interests (direct or indirect), which may conflict, or be perceived to conflict, with their council responsibilities the council office maintains and updates a register of member interests council and council committee members must disclose any financial, professional or personal interests (direct or indirect), which may conflict, or be perceived to conflict, with their responsibilities at every council or committee meeting, wherever possible, council and committee members should declare such interests to the registrar on receipt of the agenda papers for the meeting, so that any concerns about maintaining a quorum or around meeting procedures, can be addressed before the meeting the disclosure will be recorded in the minutes of the council or committee meeting the disclosure (if not already disclosed) will also be entered into the separate member interest register the disclosure should include the nature and extent of any interest (and/or if relevant the monetary value), including professional organisations the member is involved in and whether they are an office holder in the professional organisation this disclosure provision requires members to disclose a very broad range of interests, including many current interests that may provide the foundations of their involvement in the council or its committees however, it is important for all interests to be disclosed to allow the issue of materiality to be determined in the interest of openness and fairness (and to minimise the risk of having to defend allegations of improper conduct) council encourages members to take a cautious approach to these matters and, if in doubt, to err on the side of prudence by declaring the interest members are also encouraged to seek advice from the registrar members must advise the council immediately of any change in their interests that occurs management of conflicts of interest conflicts of interest involve difficult judgements that need to balance a number of factors (for example, the type and size of the private interest; the degree to which the members’ private interest could influence their professional role; and what approach should be used to avoid or mitigate the risk) the existence of other interests does not necessarily cause a conflict a conflict occurs when there is an overlap between the interest and the functions of the veterinary council a good test is “would a reasonable person, aware of all the facts, consider that the council member carrying out their functions pursuant to the veterinarians act 2005, would be adversely affected by the other interest or duty the member has?” another way to look at the test is to ask “would the member’s other interests create an incentive to act in a way that may not be in the best interests of the council?’ a conflict of interest may be more perceived than actual perception is a very important factor accordingly, in dealing with conflicts of interest or those interests which might be perceived to conflict with the functions of the council, careful attention must be given to ensure that that they are managed in a fair and transparent way and that this can be demonstrated it is the chair’s responsibility (or the acting chair’s if the conflict is the chair’s), in consultation with council or committee members, to decide whether a member’s interest constitutes a material (significant) direct or indirect interest, and, if so how this conflict should be managed, eg by the member abstaining from discussion and/or voting and/or withdrawing from the meeting while this item is discussed in cases where the interest may be regarded as remote or insignificant, it will be reasonable to formally record or declare the conflict, but to decide to take no further action whether an interest is material (significant) or not will depend on the nature and degree of the interest as it relates to the matters before the council or committee and will be considered on a case by case basis relevant factors in deciding how serious the interest may be include the type and size of the member’s interest the nature or significance of the decision or activity being carried out the extent to which the member’s other interests could specifically affect, or be affected by, the council’s decision or activity the nature and extent of the member’s current or intended involvement in the council’s decision or activity suggestions on how to manage conflicts of interest are set out in appendix 1 below specific guidance current membership of the new zealand veterinary association (nzva) board is not normally considered compatible with membership of the council or a council complaints assessment committee in such circumstances the individual concerned will be involved in nzva or council matters that could potentially affect their ability to be, or to be perceived as being, neutral or impartial while members may freely converse with any veterinarian, they must decline invitations to represent or accompany a veterinarian in any investigation, assessment or disciplinary matter undertaken by the council or provide support to an individual’s application for registration eg by writing a letter of support or reference this is to avoid any compromise to the role of the council and/or any suggestion of pressure from a council member during such a procedure appendix 1 options for managing conflicts of interest \[3] strategy possible action when most suitable register to formally record details of the interest decide there is no conflict of interest or very low risk from the declared interest inform affected parties and record in any minutes that a disclosure has been made and of the action taken for low risk conflicts of interests where the act of transparency through disclosing the interest is sufficient relinquish to give up the private interest the member agrees to divest or withdraw support from the interest that is creating the conflict the member agrees to leave an employment position or an organisation which gives rise to the conflict when the person’s commitment to their council duties outweighs their attachment to the private or other interest restrict to put restrictions on the member’s involvement limit the member’s involvement by requiring the member to withdraw from the discussion and/or abstain from voting and/or leave the relevant part of meeting and/or ensuring the member does not receive relevant/confidential information the member can be effectively separated from parts of the activity or process giving rise to the conflict the conflict of interest is not likely to arise frequently recruit to use a third party to oversee part or all of the process engage an independent third party to oversee or review the integrity of the process (or to carry out the process in situations where the majority of members are conflicted/perceived to be conflicted and a quorum cannot be achieved) increase the number of people making the decisions to balance any influence, or perceived influence, of the person declaring the interest seek the views of those likely to be concerned and ask whether they object to the person being involved it is not feasible or desirable to remove the member from the decision making process in situations where the member’s expertise is necessary and not easily replaced a quorum cannot be achieved remove to remove the member from the matter remove the member from any involvement in the matter for ongoing serious conflicts of interest, where restrictions or recruitment of others is not appropriate resign to leave council resign from the veterinary council where serious conflicts of interest exist and no other options are workable these methods of managing a conflict of interest may be used singularly or in combination, depending on the nature and extent of the conflict of interest that is being considered download a pdf version of this policy pursuant to section 75 of the veterinarians act 2005 ↑ section 3 of the veterinarians act 2005 ↑ based on “managing conflicts of interest guidance for public sector entities 2007” office of the auditor general http //www oag govt nz/2007/conflicts public entities/ http //www oag govt nz/2007/conflicts public entities/ ↑