Jurisdiction

ACT

Lead Agency

Commissioner for Public Administration
Chief Minister’s Department

Authority

Public Sector Management Act 1994

Code of Conduct

One

Who is Covered

Public Servants

Training

Optional

Internal Oversight

Lead Agency
Agency HR

External Oversight

Ombudsman

Source

Public Sector Management Act 1994

Principles – Section 6

Code of Ethics – Section 9

Principles  / Values

Service to the public
Responsiveness to the government and the needs of the public
Accountability to the government
Fairness and integrity
Efficiency and effectiveness

Scope

In performing their duties a public employee must:

1. exercise reasonable care and skill;
2. act impartially;
3. act with probity;
4. treat members of the public and other public employees with courtesy and sensitivity to their rights, duties and aspirations;
5. in dealing with members of the public, make all reasonable efforts to assist them to understand their entitlements under the territory laws and to understand any requirements that they are obliged to satisfy under those laws;
6. not harass a member of the public or another public employee, whether sexually or otherwise;
7. not unlawfully coerce a member of the public or another public employee;
8. comply with the PSM Act, the Standards and all other territory laws;
9. comply with any lawful and reasonable direction given by a person having authority to give the direction;
10. if the employee has an interest, pecuniary or otherwise, that could conflict, or appear to conflict, with the proper performance of his or her duties—
1. disclose the interest to his or her supervisor; and
2. take reasonable action to avoid the conflict;

as soon as possible after the relevant facts come to the employee’s notice;

1. not take, or seek to take, improper advantage of his or her position in order to obtain a benefit for the employee or any other person;
2. not take, or seek to take, improper advantage, for the benefit of the employee or any other person, of any information acquired, or any document to which the employee has access, as a consequence of his or her employment;
3. not disclose, without lawful authority—
1. any information acquired by him or her as a consequence of his or her employment; or
2. any information acquired by him or her from any document to which he or she has access as a consequence of his or her employment;
4. not make a comment that he or she is not authorised to make where the comment may be expected to be taken to be an official comment;
5. not make improper use of the property of the Territory;
6. avoid waste and extravagance in the use of the property of the Territory;
7. report to an appropriate authority—
1. any corrupt or fraudulent conduct in the public sector that comes to his or her attention; or
2. any possible maladministration in the public sector that he or she has reason to suspect.