Key chapter findings

Overall, the data supports the finding that the Code is operating appropriately within the APS. Agencies have policies and procedures in place to ensure employees are aware of the standards of behaviour that are required of all APS employees. Almost all employees have heard of the Code and consider the Code to be moderately or highly relevant to their daily work. The number of finalised investigations of suspected breaches of the Code has decreased, along with requests for review of decisions forwarded to the Merit Protection Commissioner. Agency monitoring systems have now become the most common source for reporting suspected breaches of the Code. While the Code itself appears to be working well, the forthcoming good practice guide on managing breaches of the Code will assist agencies to review and improve their procedures for reporting and dealing with suspected breaches.

Improvements are evident in agencies’ approaches to handling potential conflicts of interest for both APS employees and non-employees. Policies and procedures such as increased learning and development activities, alerting employees sitting on boards to possible conflicts, and on accepting gifts and benefits are now established in the majority of agencies to assist employees in meeting their obligations. Agencies are making increased use of specific contractual clauses, in addition to general clauses, to ensure non-APS employees are aware of expectations that they will behave in accordance with the Values and the Code.

While the overall situation is satisfactory, some specific results highlight the need to avoid any sense of complacency and for agencies to continue promoting awareness and understanding of the Code. The small increase in the proportion of employees reporting bullying or harassment in the last 12 months cannot be ignored and, similarly, the decrease in the proportion of employees reporting that the Code is highly relevant to their work needs attention. Another cause for concern is the lack of improvement in the number of employees reporting, or prepared to report, a suspected breach of the Code. The Commission has recently developed a learning and development kit called Being Professional in the Australian Public Service—Values Resources for Facilitators, which addresses this issue by strongly encouraging employees to report suspected breaches of the Code.

It may be that agencies need to examine existing policies and methods used to promote awareness to ensure their continuing relevance in a dynamic APS subject to changing expectations by Government, APS employees and the public. Equally important is the need to develop an environment and culture where employees feel confident that they can raise suspicions of misconduct, that any subsequent investigation will be fair, that appropriate action will be taken by the agency, and that they will not suffer victimisation or harassment as a result.

go to top of the page