Integrity Agencies as One Pillar of Integrity and Good Governance

Abstract. This article argues the case that integrity in public agencies is best served through the development of a system of arrangements involving laws, policies, protocols and institutional design that, in total, operate in harmony to generate a cul-ture of integrity. A critical element in this system of integrity is the formation and op-eration of specialised integrity agencies, which work with parliaments and civil ser-vices to create a means through which public concerns about integrity can be inde-pendently examined and reported. The article recognises the balancing that is re-quired between agency autonomy and parliamentary control and warns that arrange-ments must be capable of dealing with the complexities that follow from these special-ised integrity agencies operating in a dynamic environment