The Integrity Commission (IC) says it is facing an uphill battle to attract qualified professionals, with Executive Director Craig Beresford warning that the entity is struggling to compete for technical talent under the current public compensation structure.

It is an issue the Commission is hoping will be addressed quickly by the finance ministry.

Beresford, speaking Tuesday during a press conference to discuss the IC’s annual report, said while salary concerns remain the primary reason employees leave the anti-corruption agency, the current compensation structure has made it increasingly difficult to compete with other public sector organisations for specialised talent.

“As it concerns the issue of compensation, we have engaged the Ministry of Finance, and we have not yet received a response. I am still optimistic that we may, at some point. I have raised it at all of our stakeholder meetings in terms of the challenge,” Beresford said.

His comments come against the backdrop of mounting staffing challenges at the Commission, which reported a 19 per cent turnover rate among fixed-term employees during the 2025/26 financial year.

According to the agency’s annual report, it recruited 39 employees during the period but lost 29, with the continued departure of trained personnel increasing recruitment costs, training expenses and the time required to build institutional capacity.

The report also notes that the organisation remains only about 80 per cent staffed, despite efforts to fill critical positions.

While acknowledging that migration and other personal factors also contribute to staff departures, Beresford said exit interviews consistently point to compensation as the dominant concern.

“The issue of staffing is quite complex; and if you analyse it, we have found that in our exit interviews… a majority of the persons, maybe up to 90 per cent, [say] it’s because of compensation, but it’s not only compensation. Some are migrating, yes, they’re leaving, and there are others who may have other issues,” he said.

He argued that changes introduced under the Government’s public sector compensation restructuring have weakened the Commission’s ability to attract experienced professionals, particularly in technical fields where similar positions are available elsewhere in the public service without the unique pressures associated with anti-corruption work.

“We have found that in some instances that persons who were at a certain level have found themselves less off than they were before. We were always a little higher given the nature of the functions of the Commission and given the complexities with respect to our mandate. We appreciate that the purpose of that restructuring exercise was to just bring everything on the same level; but it has harmed us somewhat. We have found that especially our technical persons, they are at a lower level than they were before,” said Beresford.

He argued that the IC’s work requires highly trained professionals who often have employment options elsewhere in the public service, making recruitment increasingly difficult when the risks associated with working at the IC are taken into account.

“Step back and look at it. If someone is applying for a job within the Commission and they can go to any other public service at the same level, why would you want to work at the Commission when you have all that risk and the social media abuse to contend with? You have to walk and look behind your back, and that is a problem, that is a challenge for us at the Commission,” he explained.

Beresford said the agency intends to continue engaging the Ministry of Finance to secure assistance in resolving the compensation challenges affecting the Commission.

The annual report similarly points to compensation as one of the principal obstacles to retaining experienced employees, stating that limitations within the approved salary scales have affected the Commission’s ability to compete effectively for highly skilled and specialised professionals in an increasingly competitive labour market.

It warns that the resulting vacancies have affected the organisation’s capacity to fully staff critical positions and maximise operational efficiency.

The report also notes that the Commission invested approximately $16.8 million in training and professional development during the financial year, but says the continued loss of trained employees means the organisation must repeatedly incur the costs of recruiting, on-boarding and preparing replacements.