Establishment and maintenance of ethical standards
The Values and Standards Committee, established in December 2005, provides advice to the department concerning the revised DIMA Code of Conduct Guidelines and the Conflict of Interest and Gift Instruction. The guidelines and instruction are being published on DIMAnet and will be accompanied by an official booklet.
The committee has contributed to the enhancement of our client focussed culture by providing advice on the way in which APS Values intersect with client issues, making suggestions in relation to client feedback mechanisms, and noting the issues being raised at the Value Creation Workshops.
The committee has been involved with several initiatives to help with the creation and maintenance of a culture that supports ‘people our business’. These include feedback on the DIMA Plan 2006-07 and commencement of a project called Immigration Dilemmas: Ethics, APS Values and Leadership (IDEAL), to support leaders at all levels to engage more effectively with their staff on values related issues.
The committee has taken a strong interest in the material being developed for use by the DIMA College of Immigration and has provided detailed feedback in relation to the APS Values for each of the compliance training modules that have been developed.
In addition, the Values and Conduct Section in People Service Branch delivered code of conduct training to approximately 2800 staff during 2005-06. The training was given to employees participating in the Induction, Refresher, Airport Liaison Officer, Overseas Staff Training, and the Fundamentals of Supervision courses. These courses were designed to engage participants and enhance our professional integrity and reputation through the practical application of the APS Values and the Code of Conduct.
A network of 97 Harassment Contact Officers is maintained and supported. The Network provides advice and assistance to our staff.
In accordance with the Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines, we continue to investigate all reports alleging criminal conduct by our employees. We continue to work collaboratively with the Australian Federal Police who have lead status in the investigation of fraud against the Commonwealth.
During 2005-06, we received 229 allegations relating to the conduct of employees compared to 205 in 2004-05. This resulted in termination of employment for one employee, and eight other employees resigning before their cases could be finalised. In total 16 cases were substantiated resulting in various sanctions pursuant to the APS Code of Conduct. One employee was prosecuted in open court for unlawful access to a Commonwealth database.