Exploring integrity in Australian public services: A method to benchmark public service codes of conduct

Abstract

Integrity is an ongoing concern in the public sector. Contemporary examples include fraud incidents, ethical violations, theft, and a disregard of legal advice resulting in significant harms to the public. Public service integrity management systems are interconnected frameworks of legislation and institutions intended to reduce such incidents, including Codes of Conduct (CoCs). A CoC is typically defined as a written set of norms that outline virtuous or desired behaviours, often creating or linking to sanctions for violations. Despite matters of integrity and corruption being a high concern for citizens, no method exists to compare monitoring, reporting, and review of CoCs across jurisdictions. We developed and applied a method to assess CoC implementation using specific assessment criteria developed by reviewing available content across jurisdictions and the current literature on CoCs and integrity management. Our results reveal substantial inconsistency between jurisdictions and a lack of available or accessible data for many CoC elements. Our method serves both as a tool for analysis of the effectiveness of CoCs over time and as an assessment of how jurisdictions are currently reporting on their compliance with their own CoCs.

Points for practitioners

• A lack of evidence exists in terms of how CoCs are monitored, reported on, and reviewed.
• As a first stage of a research program, we develop and apply a method to all Australian states, territories, and the Australian Public Service to compare the monitoring, reporting, and review activities undertaken by these jurisdictions.
• Application of the method reveals opportunities for jurisdictions to improve the availability and accessibility of CoC data collection, reporting, and review.
• Auditors General and Public Accounts Committees should consider this method as part of their works programs and potentially use it to inform their scrutiny programs and requirements for performance and annual reporting.
• Public Service Commissions could find the data useful in adapting and improving their CoC monitoring, reporting, and review systems.