The Australian Public Service Commissioner’s newest Directions have come into effect substantively re-making the 2016 Commissioner’s Directions which were due to sunset on 1 April 2023.
In Circular 2022/2: Commencement of the Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2022, APS Commissioner, Peter Woolcott said his Directions made a number of new provisions, including mandated integrity training for APS employees; Agencies to consult with the Commissioner before entering into a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement with an APS employee; additional circumstances where an employee’s name could be excluded from the Gazette; and Agency Heads to consult with the Commissioner regarding suspected breaches of the Code of Conduct by Senior Executive Service (SES) staff members.
“The Directions require Agency Heads to arrange for employees new to the APS to undergo a training program about integrity,” Mr Woolcott (pictured) said.
“The Commission has made an e-learning module available for this purpose,” he said.
Mr Woolcott said Agency Heads were now required to consult with or report to the Commissioner before entering into an agreement with an APS employee that included a confidentiality or non-disclosure provision.
He said the consultation was only required for agreements related to sexual harassment.
“This is to ensure that there is accountability and assurance across the APS in the use of confidentiality and non-disclosure provisions in such agreements,” he said.
Mr Woolcott said the Directions provided for an additional circumstance in which an Agency Head may exclude the name of an APS employee who was terminated for breach of the Code of Conduct from notification on the Public Service Gazette.
“The circumstance is that the Agency Head is satisfied that including the name is not necessary to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the APS,” he said.
“Agency Heads will still be required to notify the Commissioner of the employee’s name.”
The Commissioner advised Agencies to review and update internal policies and procedures to ensure they appropriately reflect any changes in the new Directions.
Mr Woolcott said Agencies should also review and update their existing delegations, noting that there were additional Agency Head powers and functions in the new Directions that would not have been delegated under an existing instrument, and most provisions from the 2016 Directions had been renumbered.
He said a table comparing the numbering was available on the Commission’s website.
The nine-page Circular 2022/2 can be downloaded at this PS News link and the Commissioner’s Directions can be accessed at this link. The Commission’s 2016 to 2022 Directions comparison table can be accessed at this this link.
