Institutional integrity within agencies
The Australian Public Service is working on ways to strengthen institutional integrity within agencies. This includes improvements to the way integrity is measured and reported, and the ongoing evaluation of integrity systems and processes to ensure they are effective.
Agencies that understand their integrity risks and actively monitor their performance are better positioned to create a pro-integrity culture and mitigate integrity vulnerabilities, ensuring better and more sustainable delivery for government and public trust in government.
Focus continues on ensuring that agency fraud and corruption risks are effectively mitigated. The Commonwealth Integrity Maturity Framework is a self-assessment guide developed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. Agencies use it to implement integrity frameworks tailored to their risk profiles, size and contexts.
Two-thirds of departments reported to the APS Integrity Taskforce that they are undertaking, or planning, a self-assessment under the framework. Secretaries have agreed to undertake the self-assessment within their department and are expected to report to the Secretaries Board later in 2024 on plans to upscale their agency’s integrity maturity.
The Australian Public Service Commission has developed an integrity metrics resource to help agencies assess their current integrity measurement capability and make decisions on where to focus efforts to lift integrity measurement, monitoring and reporting.
Using the integrity metrics resource, Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts has developed an integrity dashboard to report on its integrity performance. This includes code of conduct matters, compliance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and implementation of audit recommendations.
The dashboard is updated quarterly and presented to senior executives. Once endorsed, it is made available to all staff through the department’s internal intranet Integrity Hub. The department uses quarterly trend data to inform discussion on its integrity arrangements and maturity, and to highlight areas that may require greater focus.
Over time, the department has seen an increase in the number of integrity cases, tip-offs and breaches. This highlights, among other trends, an increase in organisational integrity awareness. The department expects the data will continue to become more meaningful as trends emerge, as the maturity of integrity processes develop and as the culture around public service integrity continues to evolve.
The Capability Reinvestment Fund 2024–25 is supporting the development of a prototype integrity data framework, co-led by the Attorney-General’s Department and the APSC. Its purpose is to better measure and monitor integrity data and analyse the effectiveness of integrity systems.
Louder than Words: An APS Integrity Action Plan – the report of the APS Integrity Taskforce – was published on 17 November 2023. It included a recommendation that the APS upscale institutional integrity culture and compliance within agencies.
Deputy Secretary-level Integrity Champions have been appointed by secretaries to act as stewards of a pro-integrity culture and foster informal integrity conversations.
See also in this report
Integrity – Louder Than Words: An APS Integrity Action Plan
Capability and leadership – Capability Reinvestment Fund
Find out more
Australian Public Service Commission (2022) Integrity Metrics Resource, APSC website, accessed 13 August 2024.
Australian Government (n.d.) Commonwealth Integrity Maturity Framework, National Anti-Corruption Commission website, accessed 1 July 2024.
Australian Government (n.d.) Integrity good practice guide, Prime Minister and Cabinet website, accessed 1 July 2024.