Dear ADIA Members,

Update – Whistleblower allegations regarding McNair yellowSquares (McNair)

Further to previous correspondence on the allegations about McNair’s research practices raised in a series of media articles, I write to inform you of several recent key developments.

• McNair has decided to resign its membership of ADIA, effective immediately.
• The ADIA Board plans to review the validation process for fieldwork services as well as compliance training.
• The Department of Finance has amended the Management Advisory Services (MAS) Panel Head Agreement regarding subcontract monitoring.

McNair

In informing ADIA of its decision to resign its membership, McNair cited financial constraints and difficult circumstances.

ADIA is disappointed by this decision. We would have preferred to work with McNair, support the investigative process, and work through the allegations to the industry's ultimate benefit. Prior to resigning their membership, McNair failed to provide us with the information we had previously sought regarding the allegations. With their resignation, we can no longer continue investigating the matter.

Fieldwork services

We understand that an external investigation commissioned by McNair is ongoing. Without wanting to pre-empt the findings of that report, we believe this matter raises concerns regarding the conduct of fieldwork and the auditing and quality accreditation thereof.

As such, the ADIA Board will consider potential measures to strengthen the validation and audit process for fieldwork services and compliance training more broadly. It is critical to our industry that our customers, government, and the community have the highest level of trust and confidence in our practices and processes.

MAS Panel amendments

The Federal Department of Finance has announced it will introduce new subcontracting monitoring arrangements under its new MAS provisions. We have written to the Minister for Finance, Katy Gallagher, seeking further clarity on guidelines and requirements under these new arrangements. I will keep you informed as these conversations continue.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce that the Privacy (Market and Social Research) Code 2021 is binding on all ADIA member organisations.

Additionally, ADIA Trust Mark members are required to adhere to the following co-regulated compliance framework:

• The Industry Code of Professional Behaviour
• The International Standard for Market and Social Research ISO 20252
• The Privacy (Market and Social Research) Code

Should anyone have questions or require further information regarding the issues above, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If you seek additional training for team members, please contact Theresa MacDonald, ADIA’s training and quality coordinator.