We will:
- promote and advocate for an impartial and professional public sector
- drive a preventative approach to integrity and governance issues
- strengthen integrity and governance capability
- review and enquire into critical issues
The community’s trust in the Victorian public sector depends on how well our workforce embodies its values. Upholding a values-based culture is also key to providing a positive workplace culture and experience for our employees. Our role is to model and promote the values as set out in the Public Administration Act and the Code of Conduct. There are 7 values: responsiveness, integrity, impartiality, accountability, respect, leadership and human rights. The values underpin the behaviours that the government and community expect of all public sector employees.
Trust is challenged when integrity failures happen. For this reason, we will drive a preventative approach to integrity and governance issues. We will analyse the data the Commission collects to identify and address areas of high integrity risk, and proactively target guidance material. We will continue to perform our legislative functions such as reviews of employment-related actions, maintaining a register of lobbyists, and monitoring and reporting on compliance with public sector codes of conduct, public sector employment principles and standards. The Commission will also continue to implement Senior Executive Classification Frameworks for the VPS and public entities.
We will act on reports, reviews and recommendations undertaken by the Commission or other agencies across Victoria’s integrity system, including the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission and the Victorian Ombudsman.
Importantly, we will act on Recommendation 76 of the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry: that the Public Sector Commissioner examines the evidence that emerged in this Inquiry as to the lines of accountability and responsibility as between Departmental heads and Ministers and gives guidance across the public service as to the obligations, both in law and in practice, on heads of departments and senior public office holders.
Over the next 3 years, we will strengthen governance capability across the sector and focus our advocacy work on impartiality and professionalism. Specifically, we will develop guidance on board inductions, employment principles and standards, and provide practical materials to help people interpret and apply the impartiality value in their work.
Promote and advocate for an impartial and professional public sector
- Finalise and communicate guidance on lines of accountability, responsibility and obligations between Departmental heads and Ministers (i.e. recommendation 76 of COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry)
- Develop guidance on employment principles and standards
- Develop additional material and guidance to support code of conduct with a focus on impartiality
- Convene communities of practice to share new practice and learning
- Support and maintain Executive employment matters (e.g. contractual terms and conditions, handbook, classification framework and performance management, and compliance oversight)
Drive a preventative approach to integrity and governance issues
- Undertake research, develop guidance and issue or revise policies to promote integrity and best practice governance in the sector (e.g. pre-employment screening)
- Develop a data-driven integrity risk model to proactively identify and address areas of high integrity risk
- Perform legislative functions including reviews of action, maintaining the lobbyist register and monitoring and reporting on compliance
Strengthen integrity and governance capability
- Maintain a comprehensive resource kit to support the induction of public sector board members
- Design and deliver targeted initiatives to support board governance, including for regional agencies
Review and enquire into critical issues
- Undertake detailed capability, governance and integrity reviews as requested