QUESTIONS ON NOTICE › Defence: Code of Conduct Investigations (Question Nos 1050, 1076, 1077 and 1084)
Senator Chris Evans: The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question: (1) There have been: (a) 90 completed investigations made in respect of individuals who were suspected of breaching the Code of Conduct within the Minister's portfolio for the financial year 2010-11. (b) 18 completed investigations made in respect of individuals who were suspected of breaching the Code of Conduct within the Minister's portfolio to date in the financial year 2011-12. (2) Of the completed investigations: (a) Of the 90 completed cases in the 2010-2011 financial year: (i) 58 employees were found to have breached the Code of Conduct. (ii) In 32 instances, a breach of the Code of Conduct was not established. (b) Of the 18 completed cases to date in the 2011-2012 financial year: (iii) 9 employees were found to have breached the Code of Conduct. (iv) In 9 instances, a breach of the Code of Conduct was not established. (3) The table below overleaf information about those provisions of the Code of Conduct that were thought to have been breached in each investigation. Note that, in most instances of suspected misconduct, an individual will be suspected of breaching several provisions of the Code of Conduct. Elements of Code of Conduct Finalised Investigations i. How many employees were investigated for suspected breach(es) of this element? ii. Of the employees in i., how many were found to have breached this element? a. Behave honestly and with integrity in the course of APS employment (s. 13(1)) 54 38 b. Act with care and diligence in the course of APS employment (s. 13(2)) 62 45 c. When acting in the course of APS employment, treat everyone with respect and courtesy, and without harassment (s. 13(3)) 50 30 d. When acting in the course of APS employment, comply with all applicable Australian laws (s. 13(4)) 14 8 e. Comply with any lawful and reasonable direction given by someone in the employee's Agency who has authority to give the direction (s. 13(5)) 42 34 f. Maintain appropriate confidentiality about dealings that the employee has with any Minister or Minister's member of staff (s. 13(6)) 0 0 g. Disclose, and take reasonable steps to avoid, any conflict of interest (real or apparent) in connection with APS employment (s. 13(7)) 1 1 h. Use Commonwealth resources in a proper manner (s. 13(8)) 38 30 i. Not provide false or misleading information in response to a request for information that is made for official purposes in connection with the employee's APS employment (s. 13(9)) 10 7 j. Not make improper use of: inside information, or the employee's duties, status, power or authority, in order to gain, or seek to gain, a benefit or advantage for the employee or for any other person (s. 13(10)) 28 18 k. At all times behave in a way that upholds the APS Values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS (s. 13(11)) 79 57 l. While on duty overseas, at all times behave in a way that upholds the good reputation of Australia (s. 13(12)) 0 0 m. Comply with any other conduct requirement that is prescribed by the regulations (s. 13(13)) 0 0 (4) Of the 67 employees who were found to have breached the Code of Conduct, the table below provides information on the penalties applied. Note that, in many instances of misconduct, more than one sanction may be applied. Type of Outcome Termination of employment Reduction in classification Re-assignment of duties Reduction in salary Deductions from salary by way of a fine Reprimand (5) As at 7 September 2011, there are 77 ongoing investigations.