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Last updated: 25 August 2003
Embedding the APS Values: Case studies and other supporting material
Please note: These documents are for reference purposes only and are no longer considered by the APS Commission to be current. They may contain good practice advice and/or advice on the transitional arrangements between the 1922 and 1999 Public Service Acts.
Useful references
Case study 10:
Australian Bureau of Statistics:
Management of suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct
Background
Agency Heads are required to establish procedures for determining whether an APS employee within their agency has breached the Code of Conduct (section 15(3) of the Public Service Act 1999). Under this provision, the procedures:
- must comply with basic procedural requirements set out in the Public Service Commissioner's Directions 1999;
- must have regard to procedural fairness
- may be different for different categories of APS employees.
An Agency Head must take reasonable steps to ensure that every employee within the agency has ready access to the documents that set out these procedures.
In order to meet these requirements, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has developed written guidelines and processes to determine whether an ABS employee has breached the Code of Conduct.
Description
The ABS guidelines Managing Breaches of the Code of Conduct (Misconduct) are contained in the ABS Manual of Personnel Management, available electronically from employees' desktops. The guidelines, while being strongly principles-based, clearly set out the ABS processes for managing potential breaches of the Code of Conduct. The guidelines encompass the important considerations identified in the APS Commission publication, Managing Breaches of the APS Code of Conduct.
In recognition of the importance and value of its people, the ABS has established a dedicated unit to deal with people issues. Located in Central Office, the People Management Advisory Unit (PMAU) forms part of the Corporate Services Division. The PMAU provides advice, support and training for line managers and staff not only for managing breaches of the Code of Conduct, but also for managing performance, resolving workplace issues, review of actions and applications to external bodies such as the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. In ABS regional offices, these functions are usually managed by the local Employee Relations Unit (ERU), with specialist support and advice provided by the PMAU.
All ABS staff, through induction and orientation programs, are told of their responsibilities to familiarise themselves with and abide by the specific policies and guidelines. If staff need advice on applying the guidelines, they are encouraged to request further assistance from their line manager, the PMAU or their local ERU. In addition to the guidelines and training programs, a video on the APS Values, available from employees' desktops, is used to help raise awareness of the Values.
Through ABS manager/leadership programs, line managers are informed of their responsibilities to maintain the highest standards of honesty, integrity and propriety and to ensure that their employees are familiar with, and meet, the required standards of individual performance and conduct. When standards are breached, prompt action is taken to remedy the situation.
The PMAU is responsible for ensuring that the procedures established to determine whether a breach of the Code of Conduct has occurred are followed. The EL2 and EL1 positions within the PMAU (and the EL2 Corporate Services positions in regional offices) coordinate and case manage all instances of alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct of a serious nature. They also get involved in cases where early intervention such as counselling, usually undertaken by a line manager, has been unsuccessful. In these cases, the occupants of these positions (known as misconduct case managers) may themselves either investigate a potential breach or select a suitable investigator. The misconduct case manager, or investigator, is responsible for reaching a decision on whether, on the balance of probabilities, there has been a breach.
As a means of ensuring consistency of approach in managing suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct, the ABS limits the number of people involved in the determinative process, including the application of sanctions. If a breach is determined, a written report is forwarded to the delegate-normally the senior executive in the Corporate Services Division, a regional director or the Australian Statistician-for decision as to an appropriate sanction.
The misconduct case manager is required to ensure that procedural fairness applies to all parties involved in the investigation, that is:
- there is a right to fair and impartial consideration by an unbiased person
- the parties have the right to know of, and comment on, any information that is damaging to their case or interest.
The ABS processes encourage any investigation to be undertaken with as little formality and as much expedition as a proper consideration of the matter allows. The processes also permit, where warranted, the use of an external provider to investigate a potential breach.
For more information please contact:
JENNY O'CONNOR
PHONE 02 6252 7270
jenny.oconnor@abs.gov.au
