Standards of Practice.

1. 01 Conflicts of Interest +

   Macaulay Consulting takes the management of conflicts of interest seriously. Clients in the health, human services, public and private sectors have a legitimate expectation that those they engage will act with integrity, independence and transparency, and this policy explains how we do that.

   What we consider a conflict of interest

   A conflict of interest exists where Caroline Macaulay's personal interests, professional relationships or prior engagements could reasonably be seen to compromise, or appear to compromise, her impartiality, independence or judgement in the work she does for a client.

   This includes:

   • concurrent or recent work for organisations whose interests are directly opposed to those of a prospective client
   • personal relationships with people likely to be affected by a piece of work
   • financial interests in organisations or programs connected to a piece of work
   • recent or prospective working relationships with people who commission, approve or are directly affected by an engagement
   • any other circumstance a reasonable observer might view as a conflict

   How we manage conflicts

   1. Before accepting work, Caroline reviews each prospective engagement against current and recent commitments and discloses any actual, potential or perceived conflicts to the client in writing. Where Caroline is engaged as a subcontractor, she discloses conflicts both to the organisation engaging her and, where relevant, to the end client.
   2. During an engagement, if a new conflict emerges, Caroline discloses it immediately and works with the client to determine an appropriate course of action.
   3. Where a conflict cannot be managed, Caroline declines the work or withdraws from the engagement.

   Public sector and government-funded work

   For engagements with government and other public sector clients, Caroline is familiar with sector-specific conflict-of-interest declaration requirements and completes any required forms as part of the engagement process. Where an engagement is covered by the Commonwealth Supplier Code of Conduct, or an equivalent Queensland or other state supplier code, Caroline conducts the work consistently with that code, including its expectations on declaring and managing conflicts of interest.

2. 02 Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure +

   Facilitation, strategy and culture work involves people sharing things they might not say in other contexts. Senior leaders speak honestly about their organisations. Staff share difficult experiences. Stakeholders raise concerns they have not raised elsewhere. The quality of the work depends entirely on people feeling safe enough to be candid.

   What is confidential

   By default, everything is confidential. This includes:

   • the content of discussions, workshops and interviews
   • documents shared by the client or its stakeholders
   • the identities of participants in workshops and interviews, where individual contributions are attributed
   • the fact of an engagement itself, unless the client agrees it can be referenced

   Outputs of an engagement, such as strategies, plans and evaluation findings, are the client's property, and the client decides what is shared and with whom.

   How information is handled

   • Storage: working files are kept in secured, password-protected cloud storage. Original documents are returned or deleted at the end of an engagement at the client's request.
   • Notes: Caroline keeps facilitation notes only where they are useful for delivering the engagement. They are not shared beyond the engagement team without explicit client consent.
   • Reporting: when findings are shared, they are aggregated and de-identified unless the client has agreed otherwise.

   Personal information shared during an engagement is also handled in line with the Macaulay Consulting Privacy Policy.

   Limits to confidentiality

   Confidentiality applies except where:

   • the client gives written consent to share specific information
   • disclosure is required by law, or by a court or regulator
   • the information is already in the public domain through no fault of Macaulay Consulting
   • Caroline reasonably believes disclosure is necessary to prevent a serious risk to the life, health or safety of a person
   • the information concerns the safety or wellbeing of a child or young person, in which case Caroline will act in line with child safety reporting obligations and the relevant organisation's child safe policies

   Where Caroline needs to act on either of the last two points, she will, wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so, tell the people affected what she is doing and why.

   Use in case studies and marketing

   Engagements are only referenced in marketing material, including case studies on this website, with the client's written permission. Where permission is given, the client has final approval over the wording before publication.

3. 03 Independence and Impartiality +

   Facilitation, co-design and qualitative evaluation only work when the practitioner is, and is seen to be, independent of the outcome.

   Independence in practice

   • No stake in the outcome. Caroline has no financial, professional or personal interest in any particular conclusion a workshop, evaluation or planning process might reach. Her role is to enable the client and its stakeholders to reach the best decision available to them.
   • Process expertise, not content advocacy. In facilitation engagements, Caroline brings expertise in process: how to structure a conversation, how to surface different perspectives, and how to move a group towards action. The content is the client's.
   • Honest reporting. In evaluation work, findings reflect what was actually heard and observed, including findings that may be uncomfortable for the commissioning organisation.

   Acting in the public interest

   On public sector and government-funded engagements, Caroline conducts her work consistently with public sector values and the public interest, alongside her independence of the outcome. Independent, honest process is itself a contribution to good public decision-making.

   Speaking up

   If during an engagement Caroline forms a view that the work is being shaped in ways that compromise its integrity, she will raise this with the client directly. Where it cannot be resolved, she will withdraw from the engagement.

Last reviewed: May 2026