Conflict Of Interest

Participant Easy Read Document

Easy Read Document

This document explains what a conflict of interest is and what iSeekSupport does to manage them

A conflict of interest is when a staff member’s own interests are different to iSeekSupport’s or your best interests.

Our staff should always do what is best for iSeekSupport and you.

Our staff’s own interests are called private interests.

A private interest can be:

  • Direct – something owned by the person.
  • Indirect – something owned by a family member or a close friend.

A private interest can also be:

  • Financial – getting money from it.
  • Non-financial – builds personal relationships in the community or with friends and family.

It is okay for staff to have a conflict of interest, if they tell iSeekSupport.

We can then decide what to do about their conflict of interest to manage it.

A conflict of interest may be:

  • Actual – it happened
  • Potential – it could become a problem
  • Perceived – it seems like a conflict but it is okay as long as it is monitored.

A conflict of interest is wrong when a staff member uses it to get more than they should for themselves or their friends.

A conflict of interest can happen if a staff member’s close friends or family become involved in work decisions.

A conflict of interest can happen if a staff member gets extra money by working for a different company while working at iSeekSupport.

A conflict of interest happens when our staff:

  • Are involved with another organisation
  • Encourage you to use the other provider to receive supports.
How does iSeekSupport manage a staff conflict of interest?

We ask all of our staff to tell us (declare) about their conflict of interest as soon as possible.

Our Support Relationship Manager assesses all staff conflicts of interest to make sure they will not badly impact our organisation or you in any way.

Our Support Relationship Manager will manage and monitor all declared conflicts to make sure that they continue not to impact you or us.

We regularly check that conflicts of interest are not impacting iSeekSupport’s:

  • Support provision
  • Quality of support
  • Good decision-making.

How do we make sure there is no conflict of interest with a participant?

Our Support Relationship Manager will talk with you about any identified conflicts of interest that could possibly impact the supports you receive.

Our Support Relationship Manager will explain how we will manage the conflict.

We want you to tell us if you are unhappy about how we will manage the conflict of interest.

We will work with you to try and make changes, so that you are happy.

Any decisions you make about your providers or supports will not impact the current supports we provide you.

Using other providers will not impact the quality of supports you receive from iSeekSupport.

If we cannot fix the conflict of interest and you are unhappy, we may need to refer you to another provider.

We will talk with you about this.

We will work out the best way for you to continue receiving the supports you need.

If you are referred to another provider we will assist with your transition from our service.