APPENDIX 9 Making a decision about a breach of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct checklist Preliminary considerations Have you been properly appointed or otherwise tasked by your agency head or authorised person in line with your s15(3) procedures? agency’s Have you declared any potential conflicts of interest? See Independent and unbiased in Part II, Section 6.1 of this guide. decision-maker Are you personally satisfied that you will be able to bring an independent and unbiased mind to this inquiry and that a reasonable bystander would agree? Have you read your s15(3) procedures and other guidance material? agency’s Where relevant, have you familiarised yourself with your agency policy, procedures or guidelines for dealing with fraud? Have you decided how the matter is to be investigated? See in Part Investigative process II, Section 6 of this guide for further information. If an external investigator is being considered, see Appendix 6 Australian Public Service Code of Conduct: Tips and traps in selecting external of this guide investigators When deciding who will investigate the suspected misconduct care needs to be taken not to breach the privacy protections under the or Privacy Act 1999 the non-disclosure obligations under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013. Is the scope of the investigation clearly defined? See Deciding the Scope of the in Part II, Section 6.2 of this guide for more information. Agency guidance investigation material or agency HR managers may be available for further guidance. If you are being assisted by an investigator, are you appropriately supervising the conduct of the investigation and appropriately involved in the investigator’s investigation, noting that the conduct of the investigation and the making of findings of fact and findings about breach of the Code are your responsibility? For example has the investigator been provided guidance on: what alleged conduct is to be investigated and which element(s) of the Code may have been breached? See in Deciding on the Scope of the investigation Part II, Section 6.2 and Appendix 5 Elements of the Australian Public Service of this guide for more information. Code of Conduct the likely witnesses or where other evidence may be available? Advice to the person suspected of misconduct
APPENDIX 9 Making a decision about a breach of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct checklist Preliminary considerations Have you been properly appointed or otherwise tasked by your agency head or authorised person in line with your agency’s s15(3) procedures? Have you declared any potential conflicts of interest? See Independent and unbiased decision-maker in Part II, Section 6.1 of this guide. Are you personally satisfied that you will be able to bring an independent and unbiased mind to this inquiry and that a reasonable bystander would agree? Have you read your agency’s s15(3) procedures and other guidance material? Where relevant, have you familiarised yourself with your agency policy, procedures or guidelines for dealing with fraud? Have you decided how the matter is to be investigated? See Investigative process in Part II, Section 6 of this guide for further information. If an external investigator is being considered, see Appendix 6 Australian Public Service Code of Conduct: Tips and traps in selecting external investigators of this guide When deciding who will investigate the suspected misconduct care needs to be taken not to breach the privacy protections under the Privacy Act 1999 or the non-disclosure obligations under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013. Is the scope of the investigation clearly defined? See Deciding the Scope of the investigation in Part II, Section 6.2 of this guide for more information. Agency guidance material or agency HR managers may be available for further guidance. If you are being assisted by an investigator, are you appropriately supervising the investigator’s conduct of the investigation and appropriately involved in the investigation, noting that the conduct of the investigation and the making of findings of fact and findings about breach of the Code are your responsibility? For example has the investigator been provided guidance on: what alleged conduct is to be investigated and which element(s) of the Code may have been breached? See Deciding on the Scope of the investigation in Part II, Section 6.2 and Appendix 5 Elements of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct of this guide for more information. the likely witnesses or where other evidence may be available? Advice to the person suspected of misconduct
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