Integrity

At the heart of the APS is the pursuit of high standards of professionalism – both in what we do, and how we do it. It is the foundation of trust on which public service effectiveness is built.

Contents

The Integrity of APS employees and agencies is central to building a high-performing and trusted public service. Integrity in the APS is the pursuit of high standards of professionalism—both in what we do, and in how we do it.

To practise integrity well, knowing the ‘rules’ is necessary but not sufficient—we also need to know how to interpret and apply them successfully in a range of situations. Integrity is a core consideration of our individual conduct and guides how we think and undertake our work as an organisation.

APS Craft: Integrity – Jaala Hinchcliffe

I'm so excited that in the APS Academy, we're looking at integrity as being central to the craft.

What is integrity?

Integrity relates to our own actions, but also relates to what we see around us and knowing what to do when we see things around us, where we think that perhaps people are acting without integrity and/or without accountability and knowing what do you do in that situation?

What’s your advice on how to act with integrity?

My advice to people would always be, if you see a problem or you make an error, the first thing that you should do is let somebody know and let it be fixed because that's how you display integrity.

Why is it important for the APS to act with integrity?

When people see the public service acting with integrity, that increases the view of trust.

Why is it important to continuously practice integrity?

As we develop in our careers, we will come into more and more situations where the decision making is really difficult and it's much more grey than just the black and white of applying rules. And we need to prepare people to be able to be in those situations and to be able to make decisions with integrity. And that takes the provision, not just of understanding the rules, but of being able to practice making decisions with integrity in hard situations.

How will the Academy help develop integrity in the APS?

The APS Academy will provide a space to be able to both understand the rules for more junior employees. And to then for more senior employees be able to operate in that practice situation of applying integrity in grey situations.

We can strengthen our integrity culture by:

  • Building APS employees’ awareness, across all levels, of their obligations for working professionally
  • Enhancing the capability of APS employees to identify and work through ethical challenges, ensuring we have or can develop the skills, knowledge and abilities to address integrity concerns and make sound decisions
  • Assuring accountability for decisions and actions at every level, and systems for addressing concerns about employees’ integrity or conduct appropriately and consistently.

 

Note: The Commissioner’s Directions 2022 mandate that all employees who are new to the APS need to complete foundational integrity training. The “Integrity in the APS” course is available to ensure these requirements can be met.  More information can be found at Integrity training in the APS FAQ’s

 

Resources

APS Code of Conduct
The code sets out a clear set of rules relating to the professional conduct of all APS employees. The Code is outlined in s13 of the Public Service Act 1999.
APS Values
The APS Values articulate the Parliament’s expectations of public servants with regard to performance and standards of behaviour.
Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions
The Commissioners Directions 2022 outline the standards that Agency Heads and APS employees must comply with to meet their obligations under the Public Service Act 1999.
Commonwealth Integrity Maturity Framework
This Maturity Framework helps agencies design, implement and review the effectiveness of their integrity frameworks.
Integrity legislative environment
Legislation provides a framework for acting with integrity. This includes the Public Service Act 1999, Public Service Regulations 1999 and Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2022.
​​Stewardship guidance​
​​This guidance outlines the requirements of the Directions on Stewardship and provides further interpretation, advice, and case studies on the application of Stewardship.​
APS Commissioner’s vision for public service
Australian Public Service Commissioner Dr Gordon de Brouwer’s June 2023 IPAA speech on his vision for the future of the public service.
ATO Integrity based group-discussion resources for leaders
The ATO share scenario-based group-discussion resources for leaders to use with their teams. At approx. 10-20 mins they are perfect for team meetings.
ATO One Habit at a Time - Own it: Pro-integrity culture building activities
The ATO share a suite of simple, practical activities and leadership resources to support the creation of a pro-integrity culture where staff feel safe and empowered to “own it”.
Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre
This Centre was established in 2019 to strengthen counter fraud arrangements across the Australian Government. It provides educational material, guides, toolkits and other aids.
Craft Conversations – Integrity Month – April 2023
This video was recorded in April 2023 at the APS Academy’s Craft Conversations event on the Integrity craft.
Declaration of Interests template
Two templates that agencies can adapt for the purpose of meeting their declaration of interest requirements in accordance with section 13(7) of the Code of Conduct contained in the Public Service Act 1999.
Ethics Advisory Service
This Service is available to all Australian Public Service employees, including agency heads and SES staff, who wish to discuss and seek advice on ethical issues that occur in the workplace.
Fact Sheet: Pro-integrity culture
Pro-integrity involves the embedding of integrity into an agency’s culture, where it is a core consideration of all it does—from the conduct of its individual employees, to its systems and practices.
Gifts and benefits guidance for agencies
This guidance sets out the threshold of gifts and benefits which agency heads must declare publicly and sets out best practice on how this information should be published.
Guide to Integrity Conversations
This guide is designed to assist Australian Public Service employees to encourage an environment that supports integrity conversations in the workplace.
Integrity Good Practice Guide
The ‘Integrity Good Practice Guide’ includes a range of practical examples of how you can contribute to a pro-integrity culture.
Integrity in the APS
Information and resources from the Australian Public Service Commission covering Integrity in the APS.
Integrity in the APS | Podcast Series
A four-part Integrity in the APS podcast exploring the meaning of integrity and the pro-integrity culture and framework of the Australian Public Service. Produced by the Australian Public Service Commission and IPAA ACT.
Integrity Metrics Resource
The APSC supports agencies to strengthen their integrity culture by providing advice and guidance to agencies on a range of integrity-related initiatives
Judgement as a Skill
Recorded in March 2024, Sam Chard discusses how Integrity and judgement work together, and shares guidance on building the valuable skill of using judgement in decision making.

Integrity Mastercraft Series

Lessons from the Integrity Taskforce – How we build the ethical leadership muscle
Sue Robertson (APS Integrity Taskforce), and Bridie Dawson, (Attorney-General’s Dept) discuss integrity Taskforce lessons and how to uplift APS ethical leadership.
Louder than words: an APS Integrity action plan
The Integrity Taskforce has taken a “birds-eye view” of the APS Integrity landscape, looking for gaps and opportunities to build on important work underway across the service.
National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) website
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) website contains information and resources to answer any NACC questions you may have.
OAIC privacy training resources
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has a suite of learning resources to help you understand your responsibilities under Privacy and Freedom of Information legislation.
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is the independent national regulator for privacy and freedom of information.
Psychological Safety for Staff
A Psychosocial safety learning bite to support staff understand and contribute to psychological safety in the workplace.
Psychological Safety for Team Leaders
A Psychosocial safety learning bite to support Team Leaders foster and contribute to psychological safety in the workplace.
Psychological Safety in a pro-Integrity Culture
Recorded in March 2024, Anne Nguyen discusses psychological safety, how it relates to Integrity, and how leaders can build a psychologically safe culture in their own workplaces

Integrity MasterCraft Series

Public Interest Disclosure (PID) Act – July 2023 Amendments
The Commonwealth Ombudsman provides detailed information (incl. fact sheets) on PID Act changes for disclosures made on or after 1 July 2023.
Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblowing)
The Commonwealth Ombudsman provides a range of information and resources related to the Public Interest Disclosure (PID) Act.
Report into consultations regarding APS approaches to institutional integrity
This report covers consultation, findings and recommendations on how to reinforce APS integrity and sustain the highest ethical standards.
Social media: Guidance for Australian Public Service Employees and Agencies
The social media guidance provides a practical framework to help employees and agencies strike that balance in a reasonable and proportionate way.
APS Review of actions & misconduct practitioners community
The Merit Protection Commission hosts a quarterly community of practice (CoP) for APS review of actions and misconduct practitioners.
Ethics Contact Officer Network (ECOnet)
The Australian Public Service Commission hosts quarterly Network meetings for APS staff working in Integrity and Ethics roles.
Integrity Networks
Discover a range of mutually supportive Integrity based networks and communities of practice operating across the Australian Public Service.
Public Interest Disclosure Community of Practice
The Department of Defence hosts a quarterly community of practice (CoP) for APS Public Interest Disclosure practitioners.
ANZSOG Integrity in Practice: An Analysis of Public Sector Integrity Reviews
ANZSOG presents an analysis of recent Public Sector Integrity Reviews and provides summaries of a number of key integrity focussed reports.
Ethical Blind Spots – How to minimise their impact
Article by the International Capital Market Association on what ethical blind spots are and how to minimise their impact.
Ethical Leadership vs Ethical Blindness
This resource differentiates between ethical leadership and ethical blindness as well as links to additional integrity based resources.
How (Un)ethical are you?
Harvard Business Review’s scholarly article on 4 related sources of unintentional unethical biases that impact decisions & undermine work of managers.
OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity
The OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity provides policy makers with a blueprint for enhancing the integrity of government, civil services and society.

Courses

APS Foundations: Integrity in the APS
This eLearning module strengthens your understanding of the importance of acting with integrity as an APS employee. It provides a foundation for navigating integrity issues for new APS employees in the public service.
ATO Villain Academy - A choose your own adventure integrity video game
The ATO ‘Villain Academy’ interactive video game, is an exciting ‘choose your own adventure’ style integrity initiative that places you in the shoes of the villain.
Introducing the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)
The NACC is an independent body responsible for detecting, investigating and preventing serious and systemic corruption in the Commonwealth public sector. This eLearning provides a quick and simple introduction to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to help participants understand key functions and purposes of the NACC.
SES Integrity Masterclass Series
This course is a 3-part series designed to support SES staff to strengthen integrity culture within their organisation.

Do you know of other APS resources which could be shared through toolkits to help build APS Craft awareness and capability?

Please contact the APS Academy via the Contact Us webform.

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