Integrity Strategy for the Commonwealth Public Sector (AU0026)

Summary

The commitment would deliver an Integrity Strategy for the Commonwealth public sector that brings together the substantial body of integrity related work (including anti-corruption, counter fraud and other related initiatives) underway across the Australian Government, and help to: • enhance the Australian public’s visibility of work to improve public sector integrity • strengthen coordination and information-sharing across government agencies, and • harness information and data to improve reporting and measurement of integrity.

Why this commitment is important

The Australian Government is committed to integrity, honesty and accountability in government. A central part of the government’s agenda is to restore public trust and strengthen standards of integrity in our public sector. The Integrity Strategy will provide the Australian community with visibility of the government’s measures to improve integrity, thereby contributing to a more transparent and trusted government. The Integrity Strategy will develop a cohesive description of the current integrity frameworks and systems which are in place along with reforms underway which aims to improve public sector integrity. This will enable better coordination, governance and information sharing across the various agencies which are responsible for different elements of the government’s overall integrity agenda. It will also offer a platform for engagement with civil society. Finally, this initiative is important in that it will seek to enable the Commonwealth to better use information and data holdings to understand, measure and monitor the integrity system, thereby providing a platform for continuous improvement.

Related OGP challenge areas

• Access to information • Anti-corruption

How the impact of this commitment can be measured

• Clear and consistent messaging about public sector integrity to increase visibility and understanding of these initiatives to the Australian community. • The Integrity Strategy is acknowledged by stakeholders as a key resource for entities, providing a platform for better engagement with the integrity reform agenda. • Integrity governance mechanisms, reporting and information sharing arrangements are strengthened. Other relevant information e.g. inquiries, research work being undertaken The Australian Government has an ambitious agenda to strengthen integrity across the Australian public sector. Important reforms underway include the recent establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, strengthening public sector whistleblower protections, measures to enhance the integrity of administrative decision-making (including grants processes), and arrangements to increase transparent and merit-based appointments to government boards and other public sector roles. In 2023, the Secretaries Board established an APS Integrity Taskforce (Integrity Taskforce) to bring together information about integrity initiatives underway across agencies, consider how they intersect, and identify gaps and opportunities to deliver system wide integrity improvements. In November 2023, the Secretaries Board published the APS Integrity Taskforce Report which recommends the development of an Integrity Strategy. The work of the Integrity Taskforce complements the integrity pillar of the Australian Government’s Australian Public Service (APS) Reform. APS Reform builds on the principles of the Independent Review of the APS which was delivered in 2019 by David Thodey AO. The Thodey Review called for a public service that is trusted, future-fit, responsive and agile so it can meet the changing needs of government and the community with professionalism and integrity. The report of the Integrity Taskforce should also be considered in the context of the Report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme which made findings and recommendations in relation to improving public sector integrity which the Government has agreed to in its response to the report.

Milestones

3.1 Taskforce report APS Integrity Taskforce report endorsed by Secretaries Board and released.

3.2 Commence strategy development AGD, in consultation with the Australian Public Service Commission and other interested agencies, commences work to develop the strategy

3.3 Mapping integrity systems Key features of Commonwealth public sector integrity system are mapped to outline the roles and responsibilities of key agencies

3.4 Seek agreement Options for enhanced coordination and information-sharing identified and agreed

3.5 Data improvements Data sources to improve reporting and measurement of integrity identified

3.6 Final strategy The Integrity Strategy finalised and published publicly.

Action Plan Review

Commitment 3. Integrity Strategy for the Commonwealth Public Sector