NSW Treasury has issued a Direction on the use of Government property as a gift.
Treasury Direction TD 21-01 Gifts of Government Property applies to all Government Sector Finance (GSF) Agencies and to persons handling Government resources and includes details of the records to be kept relating to the gift.
It came into effect on 23 April this year.
The Direction says that a person handling Government resources would be authorised to make a gift of Government property if they were reasonably satisfied that the property was surplus to the GSF Agency’s requirements; that it couldn’t be transferred to another GSF Agency which required or could use the property; and that a sale at fair value would be uneconomical.
It said the property must also meet at least certain criteria, including that it held a historical or symbolic significance for the proposed recipient; held some other special significance; or was a low value asset and the gifting would support a Government policy objective.
“Low value asset means any asset or group of assets below a total fair value of $500 [market value estimate],” Treasury said.
“Surplus, in relation to an asset, means an asset that is not essential for the operation of an Agency,” it said.
“Uneconomical, in relation to the sale of an asset, refers to a situation where cost of disposing of the asset (including the opportunity cost) is greater than the likely net sale proceeds if any, of an arm’s length disposal of the asset.”
Treasury said a conflict of interest would exist when a reasonable person might perceive that a public official’s personal interest could be favoured over their public duties.
It said there were four elements to be considered when determining whether a conflict of interest existed, including whether the official had a personal interest; whether the official had a public duty; whether there was a connection between the official’s personal interest and public duty; and whether a reasonable person could perceive that the personal interest was favoured.
Treasury’s four-page Direction can be accessed at this PS News link.
